After 33 years, the Montreal International Jazz Festival has its programming down: big names that traverse a broad spectrum of jazz and jazz-ish rock, massive free outdoor shows and mega doses of lesser-known or up-and-coming musicians with huge talent. The Montreal Buzz Jazz Fest Guide gives an overall perspective on all of it, so here we’re going to shine the spotlight on free shows and lesser-known musicians…
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Posts by Robyn Fadden
THINGS TO DO IN MONTREAL: JUNE 22-28
This week in Montreal, we exit a heat wave and enter the end of June with grand celebrations of Quebec pride and glory, Jazz Fest prowess, theatrical excess, baroque bombast, a decade of Piknic Electronik dance parties, and lively music…
JUST FOR LAUGHS TURNS 30
It’s just a fact that July in Montreal is hot – hot weather, hot people, hot night life – and, you got it, hot comedy. Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival is still way hot at 30 years old, taking over downtown’s Quartier des Spectacles July 10-29 with big-name galas, thematic showcases, solo shows and free outdoor performances…
THINGS TO DO IN MONTREAL: JUNE 15-22
Montrealers are pinching themselves yet again as summer is here at last, with blue skies, warm weather and constant social and cultural action. Live music is the name of this week’s game, from French stars to Beach Boys to folk fests, avant-garde talents and local up-and-coming pop stars. Throw in some Fringe Fest theatre, digital art and a day at the urban beach and call yourself a true Montrealer too…
MONTREAL FOLK FESTIVAL ON THE CANAL 2012
The Montreal Folk Festival on the Canal is all about beautiful weather, beautiful tunes and a relaxed, friendly atmosphere – all of that is in full effect from June 14-17 as the Folk Fest celebrates its fifth year with an intimate show from folk legend Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) and plenty of bands on the free-admission, Lachine canal-side outdoor stage too.
MONTREAL FRINGE FESTIVAL 2012
Every year as the summer starts to heat up, the Montreal St-Ambroise Fringe Festival sweats it out thespian-style on the city’s small stages. Until June 24, close to a hundred local and international theatre and dance shows offer a unique up-close-and-personal entertainment experience. Not only that, free outdoor music shows – and burlesque and drag shows – at the Fringe Park/Beer Tent and famed late-night cornucopias of theatrical hijinks.
THINGS TO DO IN MONTREAL: JUNE 8-14
Montreal revs its engines for summer, literally and metaphorically, this week with the Grand Prix race and related Formula One parties, a world-wide festival of French music at FrancoFolies, local and international performance at Festival TransAmériques and at the Montreal St-Ambroise Fringe Festival, art and music in the streets, and a somewhat calmer revving at Montreal’s first Yoga Festival.
MONTREAL MUSIC AT FRANCOFOLIES 2012
A visit to Montreal inherently comes with multiple daily encounters with the French language and Quebecois culture – that’s part of why people visit this city, after all – but during FrancoFolies, touted as the biggest francophone music festival in North America, those encounters happen, well, just about every single minute.
TOM WESSELMANN AT THE MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts truly pops with colour this summer – their newest temporary exhibition, Beyond Pop: Tom Wesselmann, is a gorgeous retrospective that joyfully takes us through a lifetime of work by the American artist, a contemporary of Warhol and Lichtenstein but with an artistic outlook and process all his own.
MONTREAL BY BIKE WITH ÇA ROULE MONTREAL ON WHEELS
Bike riding in Montreal in the summer months is truly a great way to see as much of the city as possible with a smile and sun on your face. Our Montreal Buzz Bike Guide outlines good rides and bike rental shops, but I decided to get into specifics – and see if I could learn anything about Montreal I didn’t already know – with a bike tour from Ça Roule Montreal on Wheels…
