{"id":165713,"date":"2026-09-27T17:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T21:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=gig_review&#038;p=165713"},"modified":"2026-09-28T16:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:02:02","slug":"pop-mtl-2026-secret-citys-20th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"gig_review","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/gig_review\/pop-mtl-2026-secret-citys-20th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Pop MTL 2026 | Secret City&#8217;s 20th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Secret City Records is a Montreal-based label that largely embodies the successes and ambitions of the independent music scene. It got its start in 2006 with none other than Patrick Watson, producing his album <em>Close to Paradise<\/em>. Twenty years later, its catalogue includes thirty-five artists, ranging from Daniel B\u00e9langer to The Barr Brothers, including Alexandra Streliski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">It was only natural that, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Pop Mtl would celebrate the 20th anniversary of this Montreal indie gem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">The event took place over two consecutive nights at the iconic Sala Rossa: on Friday, September 25, featuring Antoine Corriveau, Basia Bulat, Brad Barr, and Klo Pelgag; followed by Saturday, September 26, featuring Fernie, Bye Parula, Shad, La Force, and Unessential Oils. I attended the second night, which was quite a success and definitely offered excellent value for the money, with three hours of music for 35 dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"706\" src=\"https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fernie.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-165658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fernie.jpg 969w, https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fernie-768x560.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">The Sala Rossa quickly filled up and turned into a sweltering sauna. Opening the show, Fernie\u2014a Brazilian-Canadian based in Montreal\u2014turned up the heat with his almost feminine countertenor voice and extraordinary vocal range. This artist, who identifies as queer and has been taken under Patrick Watson\u2019s wing, is sometimes reminiscent of Frank Ocean or Moses Sumney, but carves his own path with a rather mellow style of R&amp;B, even though his voice can pierce right through you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Fernie quickly won over the audience. However, he addressed them only in English\u2014something I find baffling in Montreal, in 2026. Major international stars say a few words to us in French\u2014so why not an artist based right here? Speaking of language, I\u2019d be curious to hear him sing in his native tongue, Brazilian Portuguese. Still, Fernie has a bright future ahead of him. He performed two promising new songs for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"895\" height=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/By-Parula.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-165660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/By-Parula.jpg 895w, https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/By-Parula-768x580.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 895px) 100vw, 895px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Next up was Bye Parula, a quirky Montreal rock band. I have to admit: before September 26, I had no idea this band existed, but they won me over very quickly. The trio consists of Catalan Lo\u00efc Calatayud (bass), Chilean Sebastian Riquelme (guitar), and Italian Sergio D\u2019Isanto (drums), all of whom have become Quebecers and Montrealers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">This band treated us to a whirlwind of funk-rock-indie\u2014very raw and intense, less subtle than their recent album, <em>Something Out Of Nothing<\/em>, which features more acoustic elements and Latin influences. They\u2019re definitely a band to watch, still in the process of defining their multifaceted identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">As for the language, Bye Parula sings mainly in English, with a bit of Spanish and French. However, they addressed the audience almost entirely in French. And the large portion of the audience that was English-speaking didn\u2019t seem to mind at all\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">In the third segment, Shad, the veteran rapper who grew up in London, Ontario, treated us to his versatile lyrics and even managed to collaborate with Bye Parula on a track. These Secret City artists all seem to respect one another, despite their diverse genres. And it\u2019s quite nice to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">In the fourth segment, La Force, aka Ariel Engle, stole the show. This highly versatile singer-songwriter quickly silenced the entire audience. This Montreal native\u2014who has performed with both Patrick Watson and the Toronto-based alternative band Broken Social Scene\u2014treated us to a few tracks from her two solo albums, while hinting that a new album is on the way. Much to our delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Since \u201ceverything is in everything,\u201d as the poet Raoul Duguay once said, Warren Spicer\u2014who produced <em>XO Skeleton<\/em> (2023), La Force\u2019s latest release\u2014took the stage with his electric guitar to join in the celebration. We\u2019d already gotten a taste of the evening\u2019s finale, which featured a performance by Unessential Oils, the solo project of Warren Spicer, who is also a member of the indie band Plants And Animals. I really enjoyed their only album, released in 2024, a blend of languid Sade-esque grooves and fluid folk rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:20px\">On stage, for Secret City\u2019s 29th-anniversary celebration, Warren Spicer and his musicians\u2014including a saxophonist who didn\u2019t appear on the album <em>Unessential Oils<\/em>\u2014played with more energy than on the record. And Ariel Engle provided backing vocals\u2014what can you say\u2026 After all, these two collaborators have just recorded a version of \u201cWicked Games,\u201d Chris Isaak\u2019s iconic song, which was released this past June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">This old man here took his leave at 11:35 p.m., intoxicated by the music and good vibes. Long live Secret City Records. It embodies not only the best of Montreal\u2019s creative scene, but also the many connections between musicians in this precious ecosystem\u2014in French, English, and other Montreal languages.<\/p>\n\n\n    <div class=\"panm-ads-wrapper alignfull\"><span class=\"panm-ads-copy\">Publicit\u00e9 panam<\/span><div class=\"panm-ads-render\" data-ads-id=\"164743\"><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Secret City Records is a Montreal-based label that largely embodies the successes and ambitions of the independent music scene. It got its start in 2006 with none other than Patrick Watson, producing his album Close to Paradise. Twenty years later, its catalogue includes thirty-five artists, ranging from Daniel B\u00e9langer to The Barr Brothers, including Alexandra [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":277,"featured_media":165663,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[8152],"tags":[8772],"genre":[7004,3199,3200,4399],"salle":[],"ville":[],"class_list":["post-165713","gig_review","type-gig_review","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-critiques-de-concerts-en","tag-pop-montreal","genre-funk-rock-en","genre-indie-pop-2","genre-indie-rock-2","genre-soul-pop-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pop MTL 2026 | Secret City&#039;s 20th Anniversary - PAN M 360<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/gig_review\/pop-mtl-2026-secret-citys-20th-anniversary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pop MTL 2026 | Secret City&#039;s 20th Anniversary - PAN M 360\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Secret City Records is a Montreal-based label that largely embodies the successes and ambitions of the independent music scene. 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