Additional Information
Dan Seligman is the founder and creative director of Pop Montreal, Montreal’s premier fall music festival. He leads the team that booked the artists and bands scheduled to perform from Wednesday, September 24 to Sunday, September 29. As it does every year, PAN M 360 asked him to identify the five daily must-sees from his artistic direction. Here are the must-sees for Saturday, September 27!
“Ribbon Skirt is one of my favorite bands from Montreal, and I’ve been following them for three or four years. Every time I hear them and see them again, this band has gotten even better. It’s a great formula, post-punk rock and Indigenous music. Led by Anishinaabe musician Tashiina Buswa, they released Bite Down on Mint Records in April 2025. Against a rock backdrop, the singer raises themes of memory, Indigenous identity, and historical issues.”
I saw Dilettante at South by Southwest and loved her. She told me she had applied to Pop MTL. It was really cool. I don’t know if she’s coming alone or with her excellent band, but I know she plays the saxophone, which she also uses in loops. It’s pop, but it’s a strange, fun, arty, very rhythmic kind of pop. Dilettante is the pseudonym of multi-instrumentalist Francesca Pidgeon, based in Manchester, UK.”
I think her new album, Black Space, is one of the best of the year, but I think Elle Barbara is one of Montreal’s most special artists. She has her own thing, her own universe. I’ve been supporting her since she started her career, and she’s one of those artists who pushes the boundaries of pop. There are also elements of classical, punk, R&B, disco, synth-pop, glam rock, and other unexpected combinations. The Polaris in 2026? Maybe! Elle Barbara is a transgender artist who excels in art pop, is interested in experimental theater, has done community work, and remains a central figure in Montreal’s underground scene.
DAM is definitely a must-see on Saturday night. This Palestinian rap group, one of my favorites at POP this year, was one of the first hip-hop groups in Palestine and the Arab world, and they make excellent hip-hop. Today, the perspective of Palestinian citizens of Israel is based on a deeply meaningful identity that is of the utmost importance. And their music is really cool. DAM means “eternal” in Arabic. Formed in the late 1990s, Tamer Nafar, Suhell Nafar, and Mahmood Jrere wanted to tell their story through hip-hop.”
“Soltera, from Los Angeles, will be playing for free this Saturday afternoon. I saw this band for the first time at the Slut Island festival in Montreal (held in October). Very cool, Latin, electronic, and punk. Soltera is made up of outsiders in synth music. Soltera was initially the project of American-Colombian artist Tania Ordoñez. Soltera became a dynamic duo with Pacoima Techno on co-production and vocals.”
