Concert review

Africa / Kora / saxophone / West African traditional music

The Cissoko Brothers, A Trio to Discover Without Moderation

by Sandra Gasana

I was told that the Cissoko Brothers concerts were quite an experience and that it was a MUST to see them live! Well, I did and I was not disappointed. Even though some kora concerts can be gentle and calm, this was not at all the case with this brotherhood from Senegal. Indeed, for the occasion, the Cissoko Brothers were equipped with two koras, played by Noumoucounda and Sadio, while Fa was on percussion. With them, there was Raphaël Ojo on drums, Dauphin Mbuyi on bass and David Mobio on keyboards.

The band performed in front of a nearly full Balattou, much to the delight of music lovers who seemed to be regulars with the trio. Starting with two energetic pieces, including Mama Africa, they continued with a calmer piece, much to the delight of those who appreciate the softly played kora.

“You can dance, we’re family here!” Sadio reminded us between songs. This didn’t fall on deaf ears as several dancers took to the dance floor, including Ginola, a Guinean artist, and two professional dancers who performed acrobatics during the show.

We also enjoyed the singing talents of Noumoucounda, the one everyone is fighting over, and who notably features in the most recent music video by Senegalese rapper Nix. His powerful voice filled the Balattou, making it vibrate as he improvised in the form of dialogue with his brother Sadio.

I noticed several African artists in the room, including Dicko Fils from Burkina Faso and Carine au Micro from Togo. Some of Fa’s work colleagues had also come to cheer him on, dancing on the dance floor during the show.

My favorite moment of the evening was, of course, when saxophonist Alain Oyono, who has been in our city for a few weeks, took the stage at the invitation of the Cissoko Brothers. “I know them all very well,” he confessed to me before going up with his instrument. The mix between the saxophone and the kora is simply magical. These two instruments complement each other perfectly, and Alain was able to add his unique touch to the show. Unfortunately, this magic only lasted for one song, but it will encourage us to follow this artist who is increasingly making a name for himself on the Montreal art scene. A very wise choice on the part of the Cissoko Brothers.

Photo Credit: Les Production DO-LA

Acid-Techno / Deep House / Electronic

A Montreal Legend Reigns: Misstress Barbara’s Sundown Masterclass

by Julius Cesaratto

As the sun turned the sky a fiery orange over Parc Jean-Drapeau, Misstress Barbara took to Piknic Électronique’s main stage for a delightful sundown set. Taking control of the festival’s massive sound system, the homegrown legend unleashed a pounding hard house and techno set that lasted four hours. From the opening moments, rolling percussion, scratches, and hard-hitting 808s hinted at the delirium ahead.

Not shy to let the dancefloor energy simmer, she patiently built up the tension, teasing breakdowns and sudden stops, only to drop back into a steady, ground-shaking thump. Minimal deep house vocals threaded in and out throughout her set, as the focus stayed firmly on rhythm. Deep percussion and samba grooves with accompanying whistles and unmistakable acid-tech intermissions kept the music sounding fresh as the mood darkened when the sun dipped below the horizon. Her warm gestures to the packed crowd, bathed in a wash of red and blue lights, were a true testament to her dedication to her loyal fanbase.

True to her roots, she delivered the entire performance on vinyl, moving through her selection of tracks at a dizzying pace, while never losing sight of the bigger arc. The mix of young ravers and seasoned clubbers was mirrored in her selection – forward-pushing techno balanced with nods to traditional rave sounds. At the apex of the night, she dropped a bold flip of the iconic « You Spin Me Round » by Dead or Alive, blowing kisses to the crowd as the crowd roared the lyrics back at her. As the set was drawing to a close, she kept the heaters coming: stage lights sparkled to a relentless, bass-heavy finale of acid house.

Misstress Barbara didn’t just deliver – she reminded those in attendance why she remains a pillar of Montreal’s dance music scene, bridging generations on the dancefloor with vinyl mastery, boundless energy, and a disarmingly warm stage presence.

Photo: Emmanuelle Laurin

Americana / Country Folk / Folk

FME 2025: Ada Lea Soaks in the Summer

by Jake Friesen

In a hot cafe turned performance venue, Montreal-based singer-songwriter Ada Lea and her band draw a quiet, attentive crowd. Her sound is sweet singer-songwriter fare with twinkling guitar, warm bass and grounded percussion. Ada Lea’s voice, with a slight western twinge, is as warm and breathy as the last exhalations of summer itself. 

During the performance, her band is exceedingly stoic while she nervously attempts the task of stage banter. The nerves, however, do not translate to her performance in any way. She easily regains her footing once the music starts again, a brief intermission in her sonic landscape. Drawing us into vignettes of dappled sunlight and dusty roads with songs like “Diner.” In many ways, Ada Lea’s performance felt like an outlier compared to the exposition of oddities that is FME. That being said, the crowd that had gathered for her was undivided in their attention to her low-key and consummate performance. A break from the cacophonous offerings of the festival, Ada Lea invites you to take a seat and soak in the final precious moments of summer.

période romantique / Pop

Fête de la Musique 2025 | Marc Hervieux’s Big Italian Party

by Frédéric Cardin

Angèle Dubeau often repeats: she listens to the public. You can also listen to her tell the anecdote about this Marc Hervieux concert, given on the Québécor stage, this Sunday evening in Tremblant. People had not had enough of the tenor last year, when he came to present the play A Voice to be Loved: Maria Callas, with Sophie Faucher. It is true that he sings very little in that production. And Angèle, always on site and ready to receive the spectators’ comments, clearly heard the many people who told her: “it was very beautiful, but we were hoping to hear Marc sing more often!”. That was last year. This year, Marc returned, with the mandate to satisfy the festival-goers. Satisfy as in “having a feast,” and a real feast it was! A copious buffet at a big Italian party, with Neapolitan songs (and Italian and Sicilian, to be precise) in abundance, sung by a master of ceremonies in formidable form. From the moment he stepped on stage, Hervieux galvanized the crowd, like a Sinatra in the good old days of Live at the Sands. And then the timeless titles followed one another, Volare, Torna a Surriento, Arrivederci Roma, Parla Piu Piano, Core’n’grato, etc., colorful and delivered with the mastery of a connoisseur. Hervieux is totally in his element here. For each piece, a presentation, simple and embellished with strokes of humor that hit the mark. An hour and a half like that, and the audience would have taken double, I think. You may know me: I like copious and complex music, even demanding and even experimental. As a result, you will probably think that it was a rather “light” set for my usual sonic palate. I would answer that no one, not even a strange music-loving insect like me, can turn up their nose at it and that, moreover, you would have to be monumentally bad-faith-ish not to recognize the absolute perfection of this kind of entertainment. When it’s done with so much sincerity, authenticity, and generosity, one can only bow before such flawless success.

Club / Darkwave / Synth-Pop / Synthwave

FME 2025: Automelodi Reads the Room

by Lyle Hendriks

In FME’s past, my memory of the final show of the weekend is always one of being dead on my feet, swaying gently in a basement as I fight to maintain my final, vestigial brain cells against an onslaught of some sort of trancy, droning music.

So as you can imagine, I was thrilled to find out the final show of the weekend this year was not only outside, but featured Automelodi, an outstanding, energetic synthpop performer who came to party. Automelodi, also known as Xavier Paradis, is a lone figure onstage surrounded by synths, beatpads, and mic stands. Having gotten his start in 2006, we’re now seeing a renaissance for the Montreal musician, as he returns to the stage in sync with many upcoming releases in 2025. With distorted, reverb-soaked vocals, breakneck change-ups, and an unrelenting danceability to every moment, the music is urgent, lively, and compels—even my sorry, hungover ass—to dance one last time to close out the weekend.

We few who remained by the end of the night, were crushed to see him finish the set, begging for just one more dirty, crime spree club hit to close out the night. While we weren’t granted this encore, I was still glad that FME decided to round out this year’s programming with such an obvious, universally enjoyable smash hit of an act.

Psych-Rock / Psychedelia / Surf

FME 2025: TEKE::TEKE Spirit Us Away

by Lyle Hendriks

Many bands claim to transport you to another world. Few achieve it so quickly and profoundly as Montreal’s Japanese psych surf rock legends TEKE::TEKE.

Whether it’s vocalist Maya Kuroki taking the stage at the beginning to deliver a melodramatic monologue while shedding mask after mask to reveal an even more unsettling one beneath, flautist Yuki Isami and her glamorous, ’70s go-go dancer look, or simply the restless, constantly shapeshifting compositions that make up this group’s catalogue, it’s impossible to not find yourself spirited away by this impeccable six-piece before long.

Dressed in loud, clashing patterns that mirror the disparate musical influences driving the group, TEKE::TEKE took us on a truly epic 90-odd-minute journey through the better part of their catalogue, from their earliest releases all the way to some of their more recent work created for a recent Assassin’s Creed soundtrack. Sometimes, it’s raucous and upbeat, the perfect thing for a day on the breakwater. Other times, it’s a high-octane parkour chase theme that grips us and never lets go, every hairpin turn catching us off-guard to create a dense, intricate weave of sonic threads that feel impossible to parse.

Songs may have five, six, ten different sections a piece, and the group is beyond solid as they deftly swing into abrupt turns, sink into the quiet moments, and explode back out into dramatic climaxes with little to no warning. With an unmatched energy and a sound unlike any other, TEKE::TEKE continues to be a force to be reckoned with.

FME 2025: Frannie Holder debuts her artsy solo project

by Stephan Boissonneault

There is some old FME lore behind the name Frannie Holder. I only know the name because one of her band’s, Random Recipe, played FME’s first secret show inside the famed late-night Morasse Poutine shop some 20 years ago. Now at this year’s FME, Frannie debuted her solo project in the seated Agora Des Spectacles. The bits that I saw were a combination of experimental pop, trip-hop and French art house vibes.

As Frannie sang in operatic tone in French, a bass player and drummer created a hazy wall of sound, allowing Frannie to hop on the synthesizer. It was a bit Regina Spektor meets Björk, with a dash of Montreal’s N NAO— a calming way to start the day at 4 pm. I noticed that it was in fact the drummer leading many of the more complex changes, calling out “un, deux, trois, quatre,” before ending a song or signalling the next jam. It will be interesting to see what shape these songs take on record, but only time will tell.

Hard Rock / Metal

FME 2025: A tribute to Aut’Chose with young rock n’ roll blood

by Stephan Boissonneault

Being from Alberta, I had no idea who Aut’Chose was before this tribute show on the last day of FME, but I did recall the name from a conversation with rock and metal historian Felix Desfosses some years ago. He also references them a few times in his 2014 book, L’évolution du métal: No Speed Limit 1964-1989. 

Singer/poet Lucien Francoeur (who passed last year at age 76) guitarist, Jacques Racine (who also passed in 2024) and Aut’Chose were a legendary force in the hard rock Quebecois music scene, releasing three albums in the mid ’70s. This FME Les Freaks de Montreal tribute show had new and younger artists: Rose Cormier of Mulch, Alix Fernz, N Nao, Pierre-Luc Gratton of Population II, and others, taking over the vocal duties and eulogizing Francoeur in between songs. The band was somewhat of a supergroup; on drums was Michel “Away” Langevin (Voïvod), guitars and synths were members of GrimSkunk, Groovy Aardvark, and Tricky Woo.

Again, I had never heard Aut’Chose songs before this show, but to me it felt like the best parts of RUSH, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, and a bit of Lou Reed vocal delivery. There were moments of straight hard rock and moments of strange, fuzzy prog. It was fun and interesting to hear and see each vocalist in a different light: N Nao screaming, Alix Fernz without many vocal effects, sounding as clear as he ever has, and Pierre-Luc Gratton standing while singing, as he usually mans the throne and sings in Population II. Another standout has to be the double bass guitar action as Population II took the stage a second time.

période romantique

Fête de la Musique 2025 | Andrew Wan and Charles Richard-Hamelin: Brahms, Franck, and sunshine

by Frédéric Cardin

The duo consisting of pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin and violinist Andrew Wan (also concertmaster of the OSM) needs no introduction. A decade of artistic complicity has brought these two individual and natural talents together in a chamber music diptych of the highest order. The recordings of Beethoven and Schumann sonatas they have made are demonstrations of very high-level musicality. Wan, and perfectly supported by Richard-Hamelin, shows a very focused concentration on the discourse and narration of the works. The young man tells a story while playing, which is already good, but in addition he has something interesting to say. On the big Québécor stage in Tremblant, the Fête de la Musique gave us the first of Brahms’ sonatas, which the two musicians have been working on for some time now and which will be part of the duo’s next album, dedicated to the German composer. We have already heard the two friends in this repertoire, at the Classica Festival earlier this year. The impression had been good, and it was again this Sunday afternoon. The Sonata, in the smiling key of G major despite its very intimate character, was deployed without exaggerated effects, Wan focusing on the interiority of the discourse and on the poised pace of expressiveness. We could have taken a little more in terms of emotions, without the risk of making a fuss, but we were nevertheless very pleased in terms of instrumental beauty and esthetic satisfaction. As a concert supplement, not another Brahms, but rather the great Sonata in A major by César Franck. We too often tend to darken this work, because it is Franck, because despite the fact that he was Belgian, we associate him with Germanism and a lush and dense Romanticism. Yet, the major key implies light and open feeling, even a certain blossoming. Wan and Richard-Hamelin understood this necessity well, despite a restraint that took a bit long to dissipate in the first movement. But the audience was rewarded with a final Allegretto poco mosso full of candor and naturalness, a perfect accompaniment to a generously sunny early afternoon at the foot of Tremblant Mountain.

Early Music / Traditional

Fête de la Musique 2025 | Love at first song for Ménestrel duo

by Frédéric Cardin

There are some encounters whose impact you can’t guess until you’ve experienced them. I didn’t know the Ménestrel duo, made up of Kerry Bursey (vocals and lute) and Janelle Lucyk (vocals and violin), before this concert of just under an hour on the small and intimate Deslauriers stage in the village of Tremblant. The duo has been active since 2019 and has crossed Canada in its entirety (its “13 provinces and territories”) playing from its repertoire: ancient music, whether folk or baroque, Renaissance, and medieval. In Tremblant, the two artists, partly based in Montreal, launched their program with a few folk songs (À la claire fontaine, Greensleeves, la Louison, Au mois de mai, etc.) played with exquisite finesse and refinement, which allowed them to continue further with a few Baroque gems (magnificent Frescobaldi and tender Monteverdi in a duet version of Si dolce il tormento, an air of such beauty that it could make you cry with happiness). The champion of all categories of lyrical tears, John Dowland, a big musical star of the Shakespearean era, also benefited from sensitive and delicate interpretations by the two artists. Both voices are very beautiful, Bursey’s tenor is easy, but above all Lucyk’s angelic soprano, which can enchant even the most demanding music lovers. No doubt that your humble servant will be closely watching Ménestrel’s next activities, because he will not be able to forget, like all the spectators present, the impressive quality of the performance heard on this little Sunday midday at the Festival of Music.

Garage Punk / Hard Rock / Pop-Punk / Punk

FME 2025: The OBGMS are Celine Dion??

by Jake Friesen

The OBGMs return to FME for the first time since 2021, where they played to a COVID-restricted, seated audience. They take the main stage and declare themselves a Celine Dion cover band. Despite a lukewarm reception from the audience, they launch headlong into an unrelentingly energetic set.  Vocalist Densil MacFarlane charismatically provokes the audience at every turn, challenging them to go harder. The OBGMs are sonically dialled, catchy melodies, impassioned vocals, furious percussion, and no shortage of shredding. They are a magnetic force to be reckoned with as they straddle the line between needle-point precision and thrashing punk sensibilities. After a hard-won battle for the audience’s full commitment, MacFarlane brings them in by asking if anyone in the audience has an ex they really hate. 

Applause rings out as everyone chants “Fuck Robbie” and Macfarlane dedicates the next song to an audience member’s ex, Robbie. Even though The OBGMs stand before an audience of hundreds of people, they effortlessly cultivate the feeling of community found at an underground punk show. They stand wholeheartedly in their artistry and principles as MacFarlane gives an impassioned reminder to make space for each other in both the physical and communal sense. 

After seeing their show on Saturday night, I am convinced the OBGMS are well on their way to taking over the world, and that’s just fine by me.

Photos by Julia Mela

Alternative Rock / Indie Rock

FME 2025: Inflatable Poolgirl party in the alley

by Jake Friesen

Montreal garage rock outfit Poolgirl makes their FME debut to an enthusiastic crowd huddled around the stage. With the crowd hopping around like popcorn kernels and inflatable pool paraphernalia being flung left and right, Poolgirl is in their element.

Grungy guitars, clamorous percussion and charged, throaty vocals fill the air. Unpretentious and sincere, the raw quality of their sound is endearing—Poolgirl trades seriousness in their performance for the raucous fanfare of youth. They inhabit a sonic space previously reserved for suburban teenage boys. Still, under the lights of the FME Fizz Stage, it is refreshing to bear witness to easy breezy bratty garage rock on full display from a band comprised primarily of femme-presenting musicians. 

A constant bounciness carries Poolgirl through their set as though they themselves are as buoyant as the beach balls ricocheting off the heads of the audience. The roiling, grimy bass propelling them ever forward into their final song, and in true garage rock fashion, they disappear into the night like teenagers fleeing the scene of an illicit houseshow.

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