Magazine

Independent, provocative, now! The CJLO Magazine is the resource for features, reviews, and interviews. Established in 2004, and run by dedicated CJLO volunteers, the magazine covers the latest and best in local and international music, art, theatre, film, festivals, and more!


The Anti-Social Guide to Osheaga or: How I learned to stop worrying and love major festivals

Every Montrealer has their conceptions about Osheaga. The idea of getting to Ile St Helene at the peak of summer’s heat, with massive crowds of people to see live music could easily be a heaven or hell situation. If you’re one of those people leaning toward the hell side, I challenge you to read to the end of this article to see if I can convince you otherwise. 


Cola and Snooper Demonstrate Musical Patchwork at The Fairmount

There are a multitude of first-world problems that concertgoers face every month. It could be that you forgot your good-quality earplugs, or maybe you were even slightly inconvenienced by having to dump out your water bottle before entering the venue. But, probably the most frustrating of all: when two shows you’ve been anticipating for months end up falling on the same date. But sometimes, by pure luck, you can end up seeing those two shows pair together into one, which is exactly what happened on Friday at the Fairmount Theatre when Cola and Snooper performed on the same bill, after both of Cola’s opening bands, Shunk and Yves Jarvis, had cancelled.


Greg Freeman's Yearnful Alt-Country Dazzles at L'Esco

For a music journalist, covering multiple local gigs a month, shows can often become monotonous. Same venues, same industry acquaintances, same local beer, same flavours of indie rock, it can be difficult to find something new to say. 

But, once in a while, the weary critic will find herself in attendance of something truly special. This was the case for me at this past Tuesday’s show at L’Escogriffe featuring Burlington Vermont’s own Greg Freeman


Saturday at Shazamfest 2024

From the moment I arrived at the nineteenth edition of Shazamfest, there was not a minute that passed without something exciting or, at the very least, interesting happening. As I approached the main site, following the decorated path from the car park, the Eastern Township fusion dance troupe Tribal Roses had just gotten underway. Led by Catherine De Sève, the troupe mixes eastern dance and western electronic music. It was punctuated with flamboyant costumes and a fair amount of audience participation, which at Shazamfest culminated in one big mass dance-a-thon to close out the show. 


The Anti-Social Guide to Osheaga 2024

If you are a true Montrealer, you’re probably exhausted by the time you are reading this. Between the extremes of the seasons and non-stop access to shows, concerts, festivals, movies, it feels like we can just never stop. Living in this city sometimes feels like you have a shiny all-access pass to an amusement park. You want to make the most of everything so you try to cram all the fun into one day. And perhaps the most anticipated ride of them all? The dazzling, neon roller coaster Osheaga, complete with loops, dives and upside-down twists and turns. Ready and waiting for you at the end of the summer.


At The Movies: Must See Films at This Year’s Fantasia Film Festival

*Reader discretion is advised for the films mentioned in this article* 

The Fantasia Film Festival is back at Concordia University’s Hall Building and surrounding area for the 28th edition, which runs from July 18th - August 4th. The premier genre film festival gives the excuse to beat the heat and grab a seat for a film that will surely entertain. Before we get to our top film picks curated by us, Remi and Danny of At The Movies, here are some things to look forward to at this year's edition.


Butterfly In The Sky: The Story of Reading Rainbow

The childhood trips with my family I remember the most were our annual summer outings to Cape Cod. One of the things that this provided me was access to American cable television which our family did not have back home. We were still with our old antenna, picking up signals and hoping for the best. Cable would only come to our household at the start of the millennium. One of the blocks of television that I watched in the afternoon was the PBS hour of kids programming.


Shazamfest 2024 Preview

as edited from press release

ShazamFest, the much-beloved carnival of music, circus and burlesque returns for the nineteenth year, hosted in an angelic site nestled in Quebec’s Eastern townships that’s set in and around lush riverside woods and a natural amphitheatre.  From July 11-14th the sleepy town of Barnston West will be hopping. 


A Dreamy Sunday Evening with Airiel at Bar Le Ritz

Much was happening in the city the weekend Airiel came to Montreal for the first time. From St. Jean Baptiste Day, to the closing of Suoni Per Il Popolo and Francos de Montréal festival, it felt like Montreal’s classically music-filled summer was finally in swing. Despite the many options for entertainment, dream pop fans across ages and demographics arrived at Bar Le Ritz PDB last Sunday to experience the cult-favourite band in the intimate Little Italy venue. 


A Rockin’ Summer Solstice Night at L’Hemisphere Gauche

While Summer has announced itself to Montrealers through its many heat waves, the four-bill Summer Solstice show at L’Hemisphere Gauche on Beaubien kicked off the official first day of Summer with live performances from local bands, as well as those from Ottawa and Toronto. The Ottawa three-piece band Backstreet Dragon opened the night with songs from the latest album Kick Rocks and gave the crowd a sneak peek at some soon-to-be released summer tunes. Followed by Joey Bird and the Toronto band Roach, the night ended with a vibrant performance by the Montreal group Societal Siege


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