Jota Pê Enchants Montreal: Between Laughter, Stories, and Emotion

We discovered many sides of Jota Pê during his very first concert in Montreal. Not only does he have one of the most beautiful voices in Brazil, in my humble opinion, but he is also an excellent storyteller and very funny on stage. Throughout the evening, he alternated between songs, stories, and jokes.

Accompanied by two excellent musicians who came with him from Brazil—Weslei Rodrigo on bass and Kabé Pinheiro on percussion—he appeared on stage wearing his famous hat, which has become his signature. Dressed in a very minimalist style, the artist began alone on guitar, soon joined by the bass, and then the percussion kicked in. From the very first song, he engaged the crowd and got them involved in the performance.

The stage was set for a fiery evening in front of a big crowd at the Belmont.

This was the third stop on his very first Canadian tour. He began in Vancouver, then Toronto, before finishing in Montreal. He played several songs from his albums, mainly Dominguinho and Se O Meu Peito Fosse o Mundo, both released in 2025.

« J’espère qu’à la fin du concert, vous vous sentirez mieux que lorsque vous êtes arrivés – I hope that by the end of the concert, you’ll feel better than when you arrived,” he told the audience before launching into the song Tá Aê.

Between songs, he shared stories, including his meeting with the great Gilberto Gil, who once invited him over for dinner. During that evening, he had the unfortunate mishap of breaking a crystal glass, which has since become a running joke. But what really stands out is the way he tells these stories: he knows exactly how to keep the audience’s attention, leaving them hanging on his every word.

One of the evening’s highlights came during the song Feito A Maré, which he recorded with Gilsons, the trio formed by the sons and nephew of Gilberto Gil. The entire venue sang at the top of their lungs while the bassist—whose scarf perfectly matched his bass—added a few lines with a kompa-like feel. We heard touches of reggae, forró, rock, and even a bit of samba.

A few covers were also part of the repertoire of the artist from Osasco, in the state of São Paulo, including A Primeira Vista by Chico César, performed with a reggae twist, and A Ordem Natural das Coisas by rapper Emicida, whose concert we also covered. In fact, Emicida reportedly called Jota Pê when the song was released to congratulate him on this version.

But the most powerful moment of the evening undoubtedly came during the song Ouro Marrom, which he performed alone on guitar and which speaks about the reality of being a Black man. The song won the award for Best Portuguese Language Song at the Latin Grammys in 2024. His voice resonated through the room as the audience turned into a massive choir.

« J’ai trop parlé, je vais laisser mes musiciens parler à leur tour – I’ve talked too much—I’ll let my musicians speak now,” he said, before giving the bassist and percussionist the floor for their respective solos. The percussionist even added his cavaquinho to the mix, along with body percussion. And as if to keep us awake as the night grew late, he ended the concert with a burst of energy, followed by an improvisation session between the three musicians.

« C’est le dernier concert de la tournée canadienne. J’aimerais remercier les productions Showzaço d’avoir rendu cela possible, ainsi qu’à JØY Brandt pour la première partie – This is the last concert of the Canadian tour. I’d like to thank Showzaço Productions for making this possible, as well as JØY Brandt for the opening set,” he said before leaving the stage around 2 a.m.

In my opinion, the mission was accomplished—we left feeling better than when we arrived.