Concert review

Art Punk / Indie Rock / Pop-Punk / Post-Punk

POP MTL | Ribbon Skirt is magnetic & frenetic

by Simon Gervais

Shortlisted for the 2025 Polaris Prize for their album Bite Down, Montreal indie rock duo Ribbon Skirt delivered a magnetic and frenetic performance at La Sotterenea on 27 September.

Anishinaabe singer and guitarist Tashiina Buswa was charged with a chaotic, highly contagious energy. She ventured onto the sound system, into the crowd, then curled up or lay down on stage.

Her partner, multi-instrumentalist Billy Riley, the bassist and the drummer were just as energetic, resulting in a very embodied and flamboyant performance, full of movement.

Ribbon Skirt’s indie rock is charged with visceral emotions. This powerful charge carries influences from the garage and grunge of recent decades, post-punk from the 90s, and perhaps a little pop punk from the 2000s.

Their next EP, PENSACOLA, due out on 3 October 2025 on the Mint Records label, is intended as a kind of epilogue to Bite Down.

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Avant-Pop / Disco

POP MTL | Elle Barbara at Word On The Street

by Alain Brunet

It was with grace and pleasure that Montrealer Elle Barbara performed at the Rialto on Saturday, 27 September, opening for U.S. Girls, to present a bouquet of inspired compositions and covers.

The artist (formerly Jeff Barbara) and her musicians joined their fans for an uninhibited performance full of self-deprecating humour, at times bordering on burlesque.

Dressed in a tight-fitting pastel jumpsuit and sporting long brown hair, Elle revisited her disco-pop repertoire, sometimes psychedelic, with great humour. She placed particular emphasis on songs from her latest album, Word On The Street. In this context, Elle created a performance in which she marries herself!

Also a videographer, she accompanied the song “Hitler, Satan & Associates LLP” with images of her own creation. The songs “Justice Complice,” “Caramelized Onions,” “BBQ All-Dressed” and “Word on The Swing” were also combined with certain reinterpretations, including a very sensual version of “Beat It” that brought smiles to the audience’s faces. Finally, she gave a nod to Délice Créole remixed, for an evening full of rhythm and colour where the avant-garde took centre stage!

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Ambient Folk / Electronic / Experimental Folk

POP MTL | Jules Reidy, The Thread of A Mysterious Story

by Félicité Couëlle-Brunet

Friday evening at POP MTL, I happened to come across the world of Jules Reidy, an artist from Berlin, originally from Australia.

It all began almost incognito. After Una Rose’s concert, as the stage emptied amid a flurry of technicians, a discreet figure placed a classical guitar, then another electric one, followed by a computer and a few controllers on a small central table. With their modest appearance, you’d have sworn they were part of the technical team.

Then the lights go out. Silence. Jules returns, this time alone. Not a technician, but the artist himself. They delicately step forward, pick up their electric guitar, and position themselves in front of the microphone. Each gesture is measured, tender, almost timid. Little by little, a presence takes hold, subtle and magnetic.

The first note resonates. The voice unfolds, soft and narrative, like a thread guiding us through a mysterious story. Behind it, electroacoustic textures gradually build: strange, enveloping, constant layers, to which the guitar responds with striking precision and intention. The two worlds fit together perfectly, creating a hypnotic balance.

Autotuned vocal effects are added, recalling a hard and ethereal pop, in the continuity of the evening that heralded the next set, that of Chanel Beads. The loops accumulate, slowing down time, plunging the room into a gentle trance. We are no longer just listening to music: we are floating in a suspended space.

Jules puts down his electric guitar, patiently adjusts his electronic textures, before returning with the acoustic. Rawer, rougher, it shifts the atmosphere, adding an unexpected depth. Always graceful, always taking their time, they let each sound breathe, each silence count.

And the audience, captivated, lets itself be drawn into this slow construction, as if witnessing an intimate ceremony where everything unfolds with intention.

A rare moment. Hypnotic. Touching.

Jules Reily does not give a concert: he opens a passage, a space where time becomes emotion.

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latino / Reggaeton

POP MTL | Latin Night at Piccolo Rialto, Almost Hot

by Alain Brunet

We were expecting a torrid night at the Piccolo Rialto, lasting until the wee hours. It was less hellish than expected. The highlight of the night was Isabella Lovestory, who is said to have just crossed the wall in New York, where she is about to be propelled even higher.

A Montrealer originally from Honduras, she plays a more hardcore reggaeton style, often played much faster, with clearly atypical sound effects despite her pop inclinations. Isabella also plays heavily on Latin kitsch, given her sexy midinette look, wiggling around the four corners of the stage.

More rap than singing, her vocal delivery is certainly fiery, but a tad muddled, disheveled, a little lost in the maelstrom. Not bad, we agree, but we’re waiting for the special effects! With a budget that matches Miss Bombshell’s ambitions, we’ll replace the inflatable animals, the Valentine’s Day balloons, and this world of softcore doggies adorning the stage, including the main person concerned. Special mention to her excellent and very creative DJ, the New Yorker Ali RQ, to be watched closely.

An hour earlier, we had arrived in the basement of the Rialto for Jashim, who shines in the Montreal underground for his reggaeton deconstructions and his Afro-Colombian non-binary stance. However, his onstage offering was more conventional than his recordings, which are completely refreshing for their originality and aplomb. Barely half an hour on stage, Jashim left stage right, after a sexy guest provided a counterpoint with her much more neutral, decidedly gender-neutral look.

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Art Rock / expérimental / contemporain / J-Pop / noise / pop psychédélique

POP MTL | TEKE::TEKE Still And Always Unclassifiable

by Marilyn Bouchard

Montreal band TEKE::TEKE delivered a concert that lived up to the expectations of their ecstatic crowd this Friday, September 26th at the Rialto Theatre as part of their appearance at POP MTL. Presenting a collection of their inspired discography, they played through their albums Hagata, Shirushi, and even Jikaku (EP), not to mention the favorite Ezio’s Family, featured on the new Assassin’s Creed.

Flamboyant costumes, eccentric masks, projections of geometric or cloudy figures: we understand that the seven accomplices offered a crazy performance where the energy was at its maximum, both on stage and in the audience.

We were treated to original solos from Yuki Isami on the transverse flute, a complex score from Étienne Lebel on the trombone and some moments of raw power from Maya Kuroki on vocals, who was magnetic. Japanese inspiration… unclassifiable!

Inhabiting the stage like her home, sometimes dancing in a contemporary manner and sometimes shouting into the megaphone, she took us on a tour of the plays Meikyu, Setagaya Koya and Ai No Kozuna with passion.

In front of around a thousand people having a blast on the dance floor, the Rialto was transformed into a place of festive trance, worthy of the biggest festivals.

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Punk / Rock

POP MTL | Kasador Sets The Stage on Fire

by Marilyn Bouchard

The four friends from Kingston didn’t wait long to set the stage alight at the Hémisphère Gauche this Thursday, September 25th as part of POP MTL. It was in front of an audience of around thirty people and a black stage backdrop bearing their name that the gunners of Kasador, bearers of Ontario rock & roll, opened their late-night performance.

They immediately warmed up the atmosphere with Youth, immediately setting the crazy tone and the supercharged energy of their performance. They played excerpts from Broad & Bloom, Youth and their most recent EPs Kasador I and II with intensity, passing through Could’ve Loved You, Talk About It and Skeleton Park.

The fun and complicity between the members was palpable and Cameron, visibly amused, offered us some well-aimed kicks in the air to mark the accents of Stephen’s percussive playing. Halfway through, the crowd began to loosen up with them just in time for the most danceable, culminating with R.I.P Me Down for an anticipated finale. A short but electrifying concert, which made us forget the rain by offering us 45 minutes of raw emotion and gentle rock.

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Americana / Folk Rock

POP MTL | The Codas Make New Friends

by Marilyn Bouchard

The Codas, invited by POP Montreal as part of their Counterfeit Cowboy Tour, gently embarked on the Left Hemisphere stage this September 25. From Kingston, Ontario, just like their friends from Kasador, their relatively new appearance (2019) in no way takes away from the prominent place they have carved out for themselves on the Canadian independent scene.

They drew on material from their EPs Chasing Sun and Is This Us, leaving out none of the most popular: Habit, One Foot out the Door and Eyes Closed were on the list.

Through the unique folk-rock songs tinged with Americana, the initially shy audience grew closer, becoming captivated and attentive to their rich vocal harmonies and Braden’s charismatic sensibility.

The musicians also surprised us with two recent singles, Last Call and Poison, making this performance unique for early fans. We were treated to an inspired solo, surprise electric violin arrangements, as well as several beautiful three-part moments that were worth the detour. With this performance full of emotion and hypnotic melodies, The Codas did not fail to seduce new ears and rock Montreal.

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Folk Rock / Indie Pop / Pop-Rock

Pop MTL | Erika Hagen Incants Ghosts at Rialto

by Florence Cantin

As the opening act for Michel Pagliaro, I discovered Erika Hagen and her first solo album, Pouvoirs magiques, released last April. A lovely succession of firsts for a Wednesday evening—that’s what Pop Montréal is all about, basically.

Those who shun the first parts can go to hell.

In this new project, the ardor of punk meets the roughness of garage-folk, all carried by a rock and indie-pop base. Hagen’s poetry is particularly evident in the contrast between resistance and nostalgic tenderness. It’s a world where ghosts are friends, gently slipping between the walls of our apartments. Magical powers don’t exist, despite all our superstitions and good intentions. Women are free to scream, spit, break things, run, and much more.

The dreamlike riffs are completely magnified by Louis-Solem Pérot’s bass. He serves the songs with a rare pop agility, exploiting the simplicity of the notes to add a texture that adds richness to the whole. Then there’s a dazzling playfulness to Hagen’s playing. She surprises us with unexpected breaks in rhythm. Her unique way of addressing the audience keeps us on the edge of our seats.

I’m thinking in particular of Anita, a song dedicated to her late grandmother: “Anita, you won’t come back, you’ll drag your wool skirt through all the cities of Europe.” Beyond the music, her throat tight with emotion, she presents us with portraits and stories that enter through the ear, and soon, we find ourselves seeing them take shape before our eyes. The virtuosity of her writing has a lot to do with it. She is superb to see in concert.

Photo: Louis Longpré

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Darkwave / EDM / Electro-Punk

POP MTL: Slash Need: No stage, No Chairs, No Borders.

by Loic Minty

The crowd formed in a wide semi-circle around Slash Need, held at a distance by the volcanic presence of the singer Dusty Lee. They walked on hot coals at the edge of the periphery, holding with wide eyes the dumbfounded stare of the audience. Behind them, what looked like a mad scientist (Alex Low) with aviator glasses was turning the knobs on screeching filters, which turned acid basses into growling animals. It was a primordial whole, combining sensuality and anger not only through their music, but also in their daring attire and performance. One of the members walked through the crowd with flashlights and a stocking over their head, blinding the phone cameras and enclosing us in the moment. It was clear there was no escape. A sample rang out after their first song: “you came here to have fun, to dance? Well those were the last guys.” 

It was a much-needed reminder that music doesn’t only serve to entertain or to sell. Slash Need is the opposite of an anesthetic; they are what they say. And in a world of aesthetics where identity is trivially displayed, they carry the torch of bands like Suicide or Pussy Riot, who turned their backs on likability to make something real. Just because, why not? 

Despite being combatant, their performance was welcoming to the body’s physicality. Everyone was dancing, at least to some degree, over the contagious sequenced basslines and drum machine rhythms. Between this and the lyrics literally screaming to “feel your body”, the entire experience amounted to a grounding sense of self. In the end, the message was quite positive. Behind a violent delivery was a tender care for the audience, in the desire to remove them from the mind’s cage.

électro-indie / Electronic / indietronica / Jazz Fusion / Psych-Funk

POP MTL: A European Speakesy Bar, A Thousand Kilometres Underground with TUKAN

by Léa Dieghi

Last night at Bar Le Ritz PDB, TUKAN took flight on the Quebec scene, deploying an array of multicoloured feathers and sounds. And it was as part of POP Montreal 2025 that the Brussels-based four-piece band came to rock the Montreal dance floor.

The concert, opened by Canadian band Poets’ Workout Soundsystem, got off to a furious start. This band, which is very mysterious on social media, is a well-kept secret on the Montreal music scene. Performing with minimalism in their staging (two people, a projector, a microphone, a drum machine, a tracksuit), Bar le RitZ PDB immersed itself in the energy of rebellious poetry. The beats are as simple as the stage design, but what matters is the message. Resistance, anti-capitalism, communion. Whether you like the format or not, the message seems, nowadays, to come from a feeling that many share. A necessary message: we are not alone, even in the chaos of this society that seems to divide us all. This shouted slam, set to an electronic backdrop, was a kind of catharsis before TUKAN’s show, which quickly took over.

Drums, synthesizers, guitar, piano, analogue machines… TUKAN is the meeting point between four individuals, between different sounds, instruments and genres, but also between them and us. As the performance progresses, the audience cannot remain stoic in the face of the complicity between the members, which translates into music. They seem to communicate through sound, one speaks, the other responds. The sounds flow with a certain simplicity, and soon it’s as if we’ve been transported far away from the North American continent. This performance, a hybrid of jazz, post-rock, psychedelic and electronic music, transports us to a speakeasy a thousand miles underground in Europe.

Dim lighting, dancing bodies, four passionate, sublime artists. It’s groovy, danceable, sometimes transcendental and dreamy. You can definitely feel the European touch in this crossover of genres. Playing several tracks from their latest album Human Drift, released in 2025, as well as older ones, they took us on a journey through their universe for an evening. And for a moment, I missed Europe. Fortunately, music can be exported, and these artists have the opportunity to come and play, whether at a festival or not, here at home in Montreal. It was TUKAN live for POP MTL, and it was good, really good!

Rock / rock n’ roll

Pop MTL | Pag at The Rialto

by Florence Cantin

Wednesday evening, we entered the Rialto as if we were descending into a church basement. The atmosphere resembled that of a clandestine assembly. Barely a handful of spectators had turned out for Erika Hagen’s opening act, then stayed for Michel Pagliaro… The motley crowd, ranging from twentysomethings to octogenarians, was lined up in two rows of chairs arranged in a half-moon. Gripped by a parasocial nervousness, everyone waited feverishly to see if their memory of Pag would match the performance that was about to begin.

“Come on, I feel like I’m in the Grand Canyon,” Pag says, annoyed by the sound, before moving on completely. “That’s rock and roll!” he adds, introducing his band before the first note even hits.

No nasty surprises. Proud behind his sunglasses, Pag is true to himself, legendary and full of voice. After the third song, Dangereux, the atmosphere heats up. The Rialto fills up. The sedentary crowd abandons their seats to head upstage. It sounds like a ton of bricks, a concrete setlist, just hits, obviously. Good for us, since in this style, any kind of half-measure is prohibited.

Guitarist Corey Diabo knows all the notes. The gentlemen play air guitar, hoping to catch Diabo’s eye during his many solos. The most dashing of them smiles: “You need to relax and let yourself go, young people!” The invitation to dance is unequivocal. I join them.

Far from the Jonquière riots, the army wasn’t invited this time. Fifty years later, less beer is sold, but songs that, like Pag and his voice, bear the marks of time beautifully.

Photo: Charles-Antoine Marcotte

Africa / Haitian / Kora

Jean Jean Roosevelt and Ballaké Sissoko: A Haiti-Mali Connection

by Sandra Gasana

It’s not often that African communities, as diverse as they may be, and the Haitian community come together in the same space for a performance. Well, that was the case last night, during the concert at Balattou featuring Haitian artist Jean Jean Roosevelt and his special guest Ballaké Sissoko, a kora virtuoso from Mali.

The evening began with a solo performance by Jean Jean Roosevelt, playing guitar and vocals, during which he performed “Dessine ta destin”. Clearly, his fan club was well and truly present at the Balattou, as they could be heard singing along to the artist’s most popular songs, such as “Agoye” and “Acclimatisation”.

“Tonight, I am not alone, I have the honor of welcoming Ballaké Sissoko,” he announced to a standing ovation, before singing “L’Île de Gorée.” Very humbly, the kora master sat down at his instrument, before mixing it with Jean Jean’s guitar. Time stood still, silence reigned in the performance hall, apart from a few noisy spectators who disturbed their neighbors nearby.

On several occasions, Jean Jean involved the audience, who played along quite well. He is one of the few artists who has contributed to bringing African and Haitian peoples closer together. This initiative is a concrete example. One could feel the complicity between the two artists, and at times, Ballaké would make sounds like “yeah” when Jean Jean sang, seeming to approve of what he was hearing.

Then it was Jean Jean’s turn to leave us with Ballaké so he could have his solo moment as well. And off we went again for a soaring session. His fingering on the strings of the kora was both dazzling and soothing, his body movements following the rhythms of the sounds emitted by his instrument.

My favorite moment will be the song in which he pays tribute to his 13-year-old daughter, Maimouna, who was born prematurely. We didn’t want the song to end, and when it did, the audience rose to their feet for a second standing ovation.

“Behind this concert, there is a woman who made it all possible. She knew Ballaké, she put us in touch, and today we are here!” Jean Jean told us between two songs, before introducing us to a certain Nadine.

The concert ended with a return to the duo format of the two artists, between guitar and kora, and this time Jean Jean had two microphones at his disposal, switching from one to the other according to the desired effects. In the song “Libres ensemble,” he also inserts Lingala, the language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, another indicator of the artist’s curiosity and artistic openness. He seemed very moved after the song, which calls on Africans to visit Haiti. He ended strongly with “Pinga,” which got the Balattou moving before closing the evening. All the kora and West African music lovers in general were present and rushed to Ballaké Sissoko for photos while Jean Jean’s fan club rushed to greet their favorite artist. We should have more of these spaces of communion between Africa and Haiti, rather than seeing them as silos. One thing is certain: Jean Jean Roosevelt will be one of the precursors.

Photo Credit: Peter Graham

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