Additional Information
POP Montréal is celebrating 25 years of DIY and artistic vision. The festival remains an international beacon of indie music culture; spending several evenings there is invariably enlightening, enriching, exciting, and even liberating! It’s truly an event that celebrates the intercultural and welcoming nature of Montreal life. That’s why we’ve selected three daily recommendations from Pop MTL’s head programmer and founder, Dan Seligman.
Ribbon Skirt, Montreal
Opening Party Mario Park, Sep 23, 2026, Doors: 5:00 pm, Show: 5:00 pm
Dan: We are having Ribbon Skirt from Montreal, for our opening party. It’s one of the best young Montreal. Indigenous singer – Tashiina Buswa. The guitar player is very talented – Billy Riley. Great performers ! Their songwriting is cool. They have an underground following. They had quite a bit of critical acclaim. Polaris prize nomination last year. It’s kind of gritty. It’s grunge, post-punk. It’s one of our best local bands. They deserve their success.
Hanako / Montreal
Théâtre Rialto – Salle Exclaim! Sep 23, 2026 Doors: 7:00 pm Show: 8:00 pm
Dan: Even more underground. Hanako is opening for Luna. Singer songwriter. Folky dream pop. My daughter was a fan of hers, she would be playing her music. Very good songwriting, very well constructed songs. but I don’t know how ambitious she is. She is not super young. She has releases. She has done a bit of touring. So she’s an underappreciated local artist. My daughter would be listening to her. My son has one song of hers he uses to listen to a lot – young kids play the same song over and over again.
Luna / New York
Théâtre Rialto – Salle Exclaim! Sep 23, 2026 Doors: 7:00 pm Show: 8:00 pm
Dan: For the third pick, I will go with Luna. In the same program, those guys are legends. It’s a special show. They are also going to play some Galaxie 500 songs – not to be confused with Quebec’s Galaxie, who retired the 500 years ago because of this confusion. I think we are pretty lucky to have them. They are going to play their Luna songs. The best of Galaxy 500. Dean Wareham is an incredible songwriter. We talked to him the other day, he said he hadn’t been in Montreal since the 90s.
