Features

Sue from the 'Cult of Yes' picks her POP favourites

Look, we can fight about it if you want. Sure, classes have begun and we'll soon be drowning in pumpkin spice everything, but I say summer's not over until POP Montreal is over. Stamped it, no erasies. POP is a five-day party featuring hundreds of your favourite bands (and new favourite bands) plus symposia, visual art, film, crafts galore at Puces POP and so much more. So gather 'round, let's plan out our last hurrah before the summer officially slips away, shall we?

Wednesday, September 16th

Chances are good that if you live in Montreal and you're a fan of independent music, you've been to a Blue Skies Turn Black show. Known for bringing some of the best acts to the city, as well as helping excellent local music get its start, these storied local promoters are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year: #BSTB15. How did they get their start? CJLO's Music Director Omar Sonics recently caught up with Meyer Billurcu from Blue Skies Turn Black.

Why did you decide to start BSTB, what was the first event?

Fans wait year-round for the events that are the cornerstones of their passion, where they're free to be weird and let their freak flags fly.

Summer would not be complete without attending at least one concert, better yet a music festival. Montreal is home to one of the biggest music and arts festivals, which is none-other than Osheaga. This year Osheaga is celebrating its 10th Anniversary at Parc Jean Drapeau starting July 31 and running until August 2nd. Most packages are sold out by now, but if you're lucky enough, you can still purchase a single day pass. Hopefully the weather will be great so that we can dance the night away.

On Thursday night June 20th, two bands performed at le Divan Orange during the homestretch of the Music at the Fringe Festival series.

The bombastic Mehdi Cayenne Club opened at 10. Mehdi, the lead singer of the band with a happy-go-lucky personality, added some extra spice to their already explosive musical set.

Team Greco’s play Is this Pretentious? borrows the conventions of a well-loved reoccurring comedy sketch in a late night variety show, à la Saturday Night Live.

The bare bones set, the larger than life foil characters, and the line deliveries that keep character interactions feeling semi-improvisational, are all defining features of this short, and conceptually strong show.

It was Thursday night. June 18th. While you could hear the loud raindrops outside on the streets of Montreal, the music pouring in was much louder inside Le Divan Orange.