It’s still festival time! This week we are taking a listen to Canadian artists that will be playing at POP Montreal Festival this year. POP Montreal International Music Festival is a non-profit community organization that supports independent art forms, showcasing emerging and celebrated artistic talents worldwide. Now entering its 18th year, POP Montreal’s main event is a five-day long festival of music and art, which takes place September 25-29, presenting more than 450 bands. Our playlist has 139 of those artists represented on it. It is a multi-venue festival that always seems to have a stellar line up and I hope to make it there some day. For now, I will just enjoy the music from afar.

Launched by friends and colleagues in 2002 from the collective impulse to create a meaningful and vibrant cultural festival, POP Montreal is now entering its 18th year as a permanent fixture on the Montreal festival map and the international music circuit. Each year, the five-day festival presents more than 400 artists to audiences of over 60 000.

Delivering a bold cross-section of art forms and events, the festival includes concerts, symposium discussions, artisan and visual art exhibitions, fashion shows, film screenings, and, of course, a few all-night parties.

For musicians and artists, fans, curators, critics, record labels and industry, POP Montreal is the North American festival that provides a dynamic introduction to the next generation of musical talent and independent art forms.

Some of the headliners this year include Laurie Anderson, Mavis Staples, Tirzah, Aldous Harding, Weyes Blood, Kokoko!, Yung Baby Tate, Nick Cave. But there are a bunch of our favourite Canadian artists as well, such as Safia Nolin, Hollerado, Jerusalem in My Heart, Basia Bulat, Zaki Ibrahim, Yamantaka//Sonic Titans, Begonia, Rebecca Foon (Esmerine/Saltland), Polaris winner Haviah Mighty and so many more! The first part of the playlist below, has the artists I am more familiar with followed by so many more artists I didn’t know as well or at all. Looking at the artists info, it seems the festival does a good job of giving local artists a stage to perform at as well. I like that. So much music for us! One day I will get to the festival.

See the schedule and find out more at Pop Montreal’s site.

What festivals are on your wish list?