Sunday, September 23rd marked the end of the 2012 edition of the POP Montreal festival. A huge thanks to Candice and Melanie for representing us so well onsite. While POP Montreal may have expired, Canadian Musician will be out at the Vancouver Island Music Business Conference (VIMBC) and Halifax Pop Explosion in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to the blog for plenty more!

Our final day of POP Montreal came all too quickly. It’s been a whirlwind festival of non-stop concerts that we did not want to end. We started our beautiful Sunday at Cagibi, a vegetarian cafe and concert venue, offering an intimate setting for emerging artists. Rhoneil, a folk singer from Edmonton Alberta was playing as we arrived. She was accompanied by a drummer playing a makeshift drum kit fashioned from a suitcase. Rhoneil herself played the autoharp and sang in a soulful introspective manner and gave us a wonderful cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games.”

(more…)

We’re nearing the end of the POP Montreal festival’s 2012 run. We hope everyone on the ground at the event is having a blast and, for those artists and industry folk onsite, finding prosperity in their business endeavors. Thanks to Candice and Mel for taking care of business once again.

Day four of the festival didn’t exactly go according to plan. It did, however, make for some exciting surprises and an overall better day than we could’ve planned for. We started off by checking out Puces POP, an arts, crafts, and design fair that showcases some of Montreal’s finest jewellery designers, accessory designers, and artists. We had a lot of fun booth hopping, sampling pickles, and talking ourselves out of buying beautiful but pricey jewellery. Then came the music…

(more…)

Candice, Mel, and Mel’s camera check in from Day 3 at POP Montreal for Canadian Musician. Their adventures so far have made me envious I wasn’t able to take part in this extravaganza of all-things pop. Stay tuned for content from the final day of this year’s edition – one for the books of you’re having even half as good of a time as our correspondents.

The weather was a little gloomy for day three of the festival, but that didn’t stop us from prancing around town for another music filled day. We started off at the POP headquarters to check out a little art exhibit, and little it was. We stepped into the on-site art installation of a fictional bedroom set up as a shrine to the musician oFF Love. The site was reminiscent of our own teen bedrooms with posters plastered on the walls, board games, and colourful bedding. oFF Love performed in the “teen bedroom” on Wednesday night.

(more…)

Candice and Melanie were back at it again yesterday, taking in as much music and madness as possible during the second day of POP Montreal 2012. Here’s their recap of Day 2 along with some terrific shots which, like yesterday’s, were shot by Ms. Melanie. Hit us with any suggestions for who to catch tonight or over the weekend!

After a promising first day, we were eager to take in Day 2 of POP MTL. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. The day started off with a barbeque at Parc Little Italy with bands playing the charming gazebo stage. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and denim jackets seemed to be the uniform du jour. All the cute little neighbourhood kiddies also came to bob their heads to the cheerful beats.

It was the perfect afternoon to grab a beer and burger and take in some Toronto talent.

(more…)

Salut! Canadian Musician correspondents Candice Dugas and Melanie Cheung are in Montreal covering the 2012 edition of POP Montreal. Stay tuned to the blog for updates from each day of the festival.

Pop Montreal Kicked off yesterday and there’s definitely a buzz in the air. A local Montreal newspaper dubbed it “Hipster Christmas,” which is a fairly accurate description. This is a time where music lovers unite and old household names are joined by new talent to make some noise throughout Montreal’s largest to smallest of venues. We picked up our passes, eager to get out to the first show. The great thing about having a pass is the freedom to hop around from venue to venue; however, with so many great acts scheduled, logistically seeing everything is just not possible. Deciding who to see is definitely the tricky part. Our conflicting schedules were relieved yesterday when a last minute venue change landed K’naan at the same show as Antibalas – two acts we did not want to miss.

(more…)

So the title’s a misnomer, as unfortunately, we couldn’t be there to take in the final night of Festival Music House; however, JJ Thompson with medianeeds.ca was onsite and, once again, snapped some killer shots of the action, so enjoy a quick glimpse at day 3 – which featured Shawn Hook, Jason Collett, Grand Analog, Young Empires (great new spot for the CBC), and Down With Webster – through his lens.

(more…)

Another day of TIFF means another night of the Festival Music House, and last night’s lineup easily rivaled that of the first. Humans, PS I Love You, Hey Ocean!, Dan Mangan, and Yukon Blonde were the Canucks on Tuesday night’s bill at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club, and once again, CM joined the dozens of other music industry folk and TIFF delegates on the floor.

Once again, the hustle of the city kept us from hitting the show at doors, so no dice on Humans’ indie electro soul pop (I stole the description from their website, but it’s more than apt). To make up for that, I think I’ll give Traps a spin later today and will aim to catch the band at the Halifax Pop Explosion. They have some other tour dates up on their site as well…

Another thanks to JJ Thompson/medianeeds.ca for the images from nights 1 & 2.

(more…)

I’m almost resenting having to post about this year’s Festival Music House, running as part of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). It’s not that the event isn’t worth covering – it is, and in a big way. Instead, it’s because it seems like I’m letting out a really good secret. This year, it’s happening at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club, but isn’t open to the public.

Over the last few years, Festival Music House has presented some of Canada’s most exciting and reputable talent to TIFF delegates to promote cross-platform business opportunities. Past years have featured acts like our Sept./Oct. cover band Metric, Tokyo Police Club, Stars, City & Colour, and more. This year’s lineup is pretty special as well, and it all began last night with Jeremy Fisher, Adam Cohen, Monster Truck, and Wintersleep. Our favourite Voyageur, Kathleen Edwards, was supposed to play, but a bit of a medical emergency (she’s okay now) forced a last-minute cancellation.

All of our images were snapped by JJ Thompson/medianeeds.ca.

(more…)

Canadian Musician magazine, along with Steam Whistle Brewing, is offering music fans a chance to win a prize pack to the September 21 edition of UNSIGNED, featuring Indian Handcrafts, Odonis Odonis, and Young Mother. In addition to a one-year subscription to CM, the prize pack includes tickets, refreshments, and Steam Whistle swag (UNSIGNED shirt, opener, and Steam Whistle Pilsner glass). All you need to do is comment “I want to see ____ (band name) at Steam Whistle’s UNSIGNED #23” at the bottom of this post, or on the Facebook post by mentioning Canadian Musician followed by “I want to see ____ (band name) at Steam Whistle’s UNSIGNED #23”, or on Twitter by mentioning @Cdnmusician and tweeting “I want to see ____ (band name) at Steam Whistle’s UNSIGNED #23”. A winner will be randomly selected from all mentions.

(more…)