Contrary to many big cities where different industries work in silos, Montreal is a place where entertainment, technology, creativity and commerce are constantly intermixing. It therefore comes as no surprise that Montreal artists and entrepreneurs felt right at home during the famous Austin festivities. The Swan Dive, a popular local bar located right on the corner of the madness that is Austin’s 6th street, was transformed into Planète Québec’s stomping ground during the event, attracting hundreds of fans from Montreal and beyond. Here are 5 memorable moments from my week in Austin.

Montreal singer-songwriter Peter Peter setting the crowd on fire at the Swan Dive: Peter Peter is clearly influenced by anglo music. But for now, the 27 year old artist insists on singing in French, creating a unique sound that appeals to both French and English crowds.

“I love the French language, but I also really believe in artists who try to give the music a new sound. There’s a lot of bands in Montreal, there’s a lot of folk, hip hop, indie rock… there’s so much talent, I don’t think the city has a specific sound, we rather create artists.”

So where does Peter Peter find creativity in the city?

“Right now, I’m all about the coffee culture in Montreal. It’s my happy, creative place. At first I thought it was super snob, the whole troisième vague thing. But now I really enjoy drinking expresso, and places like Le Couteau, Arts Café and Café Myriade. Cafés are made to do nothing, hang out, procrastinate and I like that. If there’s gonna be creativity, for me anyway, it’s in those moments.”

Frank and Oak CEO talking about Montreal creativity: Ethan Song is no musician, but he’s a hell of a successful Montreal entrepreneur. CEO and creative director of Frank and Oak, an online clothing shop for men, Song was at SXSW to attend interactive events, on top of hosting a popular party in the company of house music royalty Prince Club. He took a few minutes off his hectic schedule to talk about Montreal creativity at home and abroad.

A chill afternoon show with Valleys: Atmospheric rock duo Valleys performed on a sunny afternoon at Cheer Up Charlie’s, a bohemian outdoors venue, surrounded by pop-up vintage vendors and street food trucks. Here’s some footage of the group’s members, Tillie Perks and Marc St. Louis.

Running into former Montreal Alouette Brandon Whitaker: Despite the fact that there were thousands of people in Austin, I was lucky enough to bump into old friend and former Montreal Alouette, Brandon Whitaker. An Austin resident, Whitaker played as running back for the Als from 2008 to 2012, winning the Grey Cup in 2009 and 2010. Now back in Texas to train, he reminisces on his favorite Montreal moments.

“I’d say the things I love and miss most about Montreal are my teammates, fans and of course the amazing food found all around the city– especially at Basha and Cielo. I also loved the French speaking people who would speak to me in French after I spoke in English. Montreal is by far the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited. The summertime with all the festivals going on throughout the season, it’s truly magical.”

Meeting with rapper Koriass: Award-winning rapper Koriass has been on the scene since 2001, wowing crowds across the country with his raw energry and witty French lyrics. Performing twice at SXSW, the young Quebecer was very pleased to play in front of an American crowd, who despite the language barrier, were blown away by the quality of his beats.

“Montreal is a really special place. We have the influence of the States, we’re in the middle of Canada and we’re a French speaking nation, our identity is extremely unique and that translates into our music and culture. That’s what we come to represent here at SXSW with Planète Québec. It’s nice to come shine here, the rap scene is saturated, yet I’m receiving props from Americans who don’t even speak French. I think Quebec rap can make a splash abroad, but it has to be through the production. We’re starting to have our own beat-making identity now, I’m thinking of guys like Kenlo. His beats are being downloaded everywhere, in China, Japan and Europe.”

More from Planète Québec at SXSW 2013…

Hôtel Morphée

Ain’t No Love

Guest Blogger Tamy Emma Pepin is a content creator and curator. She works as a media personality online and on air and is currently the Director of Content at marketing agency N/A.

The post MONTREAL MUSIC AND CREATIVITY SHINES AT SXSW FESTIVAL appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

Between that life-changing Grizzly Bear show and the standup comedy night that still has you chuckling, make sure you get the most out of the other offerings of the Pop Montreal international music festival. Because here’s a fest that’s about much, much more: film, fashion, visual arts and best of all for the shoppers among us, STUFF.

Puces Pop has been part of the festival for the past eight years, and it has grown into a wonderful thing. This year brings a first: Vintage Pop, a vintage clothing extravaganza that’ll take place on the McGill ghetto in a Pop pop-up shop at 19 Prince-Arthur West. The boutique will unite the best from the city’s top 10 vintage ware collectors, so if you’ve been hunting for that perfect 1994 Nicole Miller blouse, here’s your chance.

On September 22 and 23, the crowd favourite Record Fair returns, filling the basement of the Ukrainian Federation basement in Mile End with more vintage vinyl than you’d think exists in this city. After you’ve done your own shopping, grab a latté at Olympico and settle down for the knee-slapping sideshow of skinny hipsters trying to wield the weight of their purchases on their bixies.

The big shebang of Puces Pop though is the Craft and DIY Fair, which takes over another nearby basement that same weekend. Take a deep breath because you go down the steps to the St-Michael Church basement – you’ll be greeted by a wall of human heat! There are so many crafty Quebecers in there, you won’t know what to choose. From pickled foodstuffs by the Preservation Society to leatherwork by Broundoor to all-natural cosmetics by Carriage 44, it’s all here, in rows and rows of tables beckoning for your attention.

Make sure you seek out the beautiful ceramics of Designlump, the local titles among the publications of Drawn + Quarterly and the fall flavours of pie makers Tarte Populaire. And above all, make sure to bring a big bag.

THE DETAILS

Puces Pop, September 19-23, 2012

The post POP! GOES THE CRAFT FAIR appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

We’ve singled out several for your attention in our annual Fall Music Guide, which will also highlight a number of the city’s most interesting autumn music festivals. Cool is, indeed, in the air…

For a city that’s excited about indie music all year ’round, Pop Montreal represents the apex of that enthusiasm, turning Montreal into a citywide candy store not just for the indie rock connoisseur, but for music fans of every peccadillo and persuasion. It’s a place to explore… without having to take out a line of credit or borrow against your home. Or your parents’ home.

There are a phenomenal number of top-quality free events and showcases, like the everyday Art Pop exhibitions, Pop Symposium panels and discussions, Kids Pop in the Park, the Montreal Record Fair, as well as the many, many free concerts by the likes of Stars, Diamond Rings, Dinosaur Bones and more (go here for a complete list of free stuff to do). And for pass holders and ticket buyers, the night sky’s the limit in terms of concert options this year, including performances by the likes of Arthur H, Peaches, Chilly Gonzales, Gotye, Talking Heads’ David Byrne and St. Vincent, Grimes, Zoobombs, Liars and many dozens and dozens more. Pop Montreal runs from September 19-23 at venues across Montreal’s downtown, Plateau and Mile End neighbourhoods.

What began, 13 years ago, as a labour of love for Montreal jazz and avant-jazz musicians – many of whom weren’t feeling very much love at all from the city’s better known music festivals – has evolved into an annual celebration of creative musical expression in the form of the OFF Jazz Festival of Montreal, which this year runs from October 4-14 at an expanded nine venues across downtown. Initiated by a “tightnight group of Montreal jazzmen” who “wished to create an event in their own image”, the event has grown to include several top-calibre national and international invitees every year, all easily accessible through the insistently low ticket prices.

He’s known to his Pittsburgh parents as Cameron Thomaz, but to the rest of the planet as Wiz Khalifa, a 24-year-old hip-hop phenomenon who broke big in 2011 with the release of his third album, Rolling Papers, featuring the triple-platinum hit single Black and Yellow, adopted by his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers as their unofficial anthem and which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The cherry on top of all that success would be either his two Grammy Award noms – for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance – or his upcoming performance, October 20, at Uniprix Stadium. You decide.

If you have any ’80s hair left to let down, then you’re invited to the Bell Centre on November 5 to bear witness to what will no doubt be the fulfillment of a life’s dream for many a nostalgic FM radio rock fan: the gender-balanced trifecta of Diamond-certified über-dudes Journey (who clearly have no plans to stop believin’ anytime soon), ageless rock goddess Pat Benatar (here accompanied by long-loyal lead guitarist Neil Giraldo, who has played on all of Benatar’s albums) and still-red-leather-pants-wearing, Can-rock mascots for life Loverboy (who, 10-million albums sold later, continue to fall somewhere in the middle of the male/female equation) . The fun – and joking aside, this will be fun – begins at 7 pm.

Because what Montreal was missing was yet another festival, the Société des Arts technologiques (SAT) will play host for the very first time in Montreal to the OohLaLA! Festival. It’s a one-day party that originated in L.A. and celebrates music from France. In Canada. It’s just wacky enough to work. Featuring performances by Tomorrow’s World (the new project from long-serving Versaille electro duo AIR), Housse de Racket, Citizens! and Lescop, OohLaLA!’s stated aim is to “present the best and most interesting talent emerging from France, exposing enthusiastic attendees to breakout performances.” Let your inner Francophile do a little breaking out of its own at the SAT on October 16.

Did you misplace your soul-map and get Lost in Love? Is your emotional gas tank All Out of Love and you find yourself stranded along life’s highway Making Love Out of Nothing At All? Well, have no fear, the ’80s are here! Promising “the most romantic night of your life” – so be careful who you bring – unapologetic Australian hit makers Air Supply will get the sap dripping out of season when they play all their many love songs for one night only at Metropolis on October 25. For the weak-of-knee – and there are likely to be many on this eve – there are 1,000 reserved seats being offered in advance.

Following a campy and captivating free outdoor concert kicking off the Montreal International Jazz Festival this past June, favourite Montreal songwriting son Rufus Wainwright will return to the city of his birth for his first show as a married man (Wainwright recently exchanged vows with long-time partner Jorn Weisbrodt). And while he didn’t tie the knot in a church, he’ll be performing in one when he brings songs from his latest album, 2012’s Out of the Game, to the massive and majestic St-Jean-Baptiste Church on Oct. 26.

In the spirit of pumpkin smashing season, the well-seasoned Smashing Pumpkins roll into the Bell Centre for a pre-Halloween gig on October 28. That the flagship ’90s alt-rock band are less pumpkins than pumpkin – singer, songwriter and serial instigator Billy Corgan is the sole remaining original member – seems not to have deterred the band’s faithful, who’ve been turning out in droves to hear songs from the band’s seventh and latest LP, Oceania. The Great Pumpkin is calling it “an album within an album,” part of a larger 44-song test of his fans’ resolve. Smashing Pumpkins will play the entirety of the 13-track Oceania during the first half of their Bell Centre spectacle, and then rip through the hits over the remainder.

Indefatigable Kansas-born blues/folk rocker Melissa Etheridge has not suffered for lack of acknowledgement – she counts an Oscar and two Grammys in her trophy case – but the latest tribute to her many achievements is of a different space and shape. Etheridge is being honoured by the National Women’s Museum of Art in Washington, DC as part of the “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power” exhibit organized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and which recognizes the contributions of some of the most influential women in rock. Those closer to Montreal than DC in that time frame can opt to see Etheridge in person when she plays songs from her latest, 4^th Street Feeling, at Théâtre Maisonneuve in Place des Arts on November 6.

Trivia question (who doesn’t love a trivia question?): According to the RIAA, who is the number one best-selling female recording artist in history, and the only woman to make the Top 10 all-time best-selling artists list? Is it Madonna? That Celine Dion guy? Toni Basil? (With all due respect to Mickey, just kidding.) Nope, none of the above. That honour would belong to the incomparable Brooklyn-born Babs, as her many fabulous fans like to call her. Her being, of course, Barbra Streisand. Streisand will make an exceedingly rare Montreal appearance at the Bell Centre on October 17 with some special guests: top-selling pop-jazz instrumentalist Chris Botti, and world-renowned Italian tenor trio Il Volo. Bring your bank card.

Montreal Symphony Orchestra director Kent Nagano once again pops the top on expectations with the intriguingly titled two-day series “Military Marches: Classical or Electronic?” Nagano, in the role of conductor, will attempt to answer – or more likely expand – that question with the assistance of internationally acclaimed Israeli-American classical pianist Yefim Bronfman and much-loved Montreal electronic music maker DJ Champion. On the menu are Haydn’s Military Symphony No. 100, which will open the program, and Beethoven’s Fifth Concerto (which was composed during Napoleon’s bombardment of Vienna). “What better way to push back the limits of a genre than to partner it in the same concert with a work for turntables and orchestra by DJ Champion composed jointly with Maxime McKinley?” asks the orchestra. Find out on November 14 and 15 at the Maison symphonique de Montréal.

If Montreal artists could be said to have their very own embassy, it would be M for Montreal. As unofficial ambassadors for emerging talent in the city, for the past seven years M for Montreal have opened up international doors for many of la belle ville’s best, staging showcases featuring Montreal musicians in places as varied as Paris, Reykjavik and Brighton, as well as all the requisite festivals (Canadian Music Week in Toronto, South by Southwest in Austin, North by Northeast in Toronto and CMJ Music Marathon in New York, among others).

In addition to having their passports stamped abroad, M for Montreal host an ever-more-expansive industry event here in Montreal every November, and this year is no exception. From November 14-17, many carefully juried, and above all proven, Montreal artists will provide the entertainment portion of M for Montreal, which will also feature powerful industry panels, networking sessions, VIP cocktails and dinners and much more. The lineups for the showcases will be announced in October.

Part of being a successful solo artist is harnessing opportunity when it presents itself, and with the world set to expire on December 21, Montreal-based alt-pop songwriter David Usher appears to have grabbed doomsday by the reins with his latest album, Songs from the Last Day on Earth.

“This is really my first album with a central theme,” explains Usher.  “It’s premised on a group of friends sharing their last day together and some thoughts on what, in the final reckoning, might stand out as the things that have stayed with them over a lifetime.” So a day at the fair it ain’t, but when it’s released on October 2, it will no doubt find a popular place alongside the four-time Juno Award hoarder’s eight other solo albums. How one stays motivated with the end verging on nigh is anybody’s guess, but for his part Usher will be touring Songs from the Last Day on Earth with a Montreal stop at Club Soda on Nov. 15.

On September 11, folk-rock legend Bob Dylan reached yet another milestone, along a career path scattered with the dang things, with the launch of his 35^th studio album, Tempest, the release of which coincides with the 50^th anniversary of Dylan’s self-titled, 1962 debut record. Dylan and band will take the ten-song Tempest on a North American tour this fall with a very special guest: Dire Straits main man Mark Knopfler. The tour stops in Montreal, at the Bell Centre, on November 16.

Montreal just can’t seem to get enough of Toronto indie rockers Metric, who from humble but memorable beginnings gigging at small venues like Sala Rossa have now made the big leap to arenas, playing Montreal’s Bell Centre on November 21 in support of their latest full-length, Synthetica. And this only four short months after playing the main stage at Montreal’s massive (and sold out) Osheaga Festival. Joining Metric at the Bell Centre is Montreal/Toronto orchestral indie-pop outfit Stars, an outstandingly rational choice for accompaniment, and the musical yin to Metric’s yang (or perhaps the other way around, depending on which way the wind is blowing that day). Stars are pushing an even newer album, The North, released just last week and their sixth studio album in just over a decade.

And finally, Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen play the Bell Centre on November 26. Tickets were, of course, sold out within seconds of being on sale, but if you’re of the Biebs/Call Me Maybe demographic, you’ve already got yours or have been diligently saving money for your friendly neigbourhood scalper.

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