Osamason’s Wish You Were Here tour, featuring 1oneam, exemplifies the raw energy and intense atmosphere of the underground rap scene. Hailing from Goose Creek, South Carolina, Osamason launched his music career on SoundCloud in 2020. It was his breakout single, “CTS-V” released in 2023, that solidified him as one of the most prominent figures in the underground.

Tinashe’s world tour show at MTELUS did not live up to the level of freak I expected. The R&B legend, who’s been in the game for over a decade, gained more popularity with her album Quantum Baby riding the wave of Brat Summer. The show was well done and long, the dancers and Tinashe were very talented, but there was a lack of aesthetic continuance. Song transitions felt disjointed, as if there was a slew of creative directors who didn’t talk to each other.

Chat Pile is a band I have wanted to see for years. I have been following them since their second EP Remove Your Skin, Please blew up in the world of heavy music just in time for 17-year-old me to stumble upon it. When they played at Le Ritz last year, the date snuck up on me and I forgot to grab a ticket in time. When I saw that they were returning so soon, with a new album under their belts, I wouldn’t make the same mistake. 

This last Wednesday, November 6th, at the cozy Bar le Ritz, I had the opportunity to see the indie singer-songwriter, Odie Leigh. The folk singer was here to tour her new album Carrier Pigeon, though you may know her through Tiktok for her song “Crop Circles”. I was introduced to Odie Leigh during a time in my life where I was doing some serious soul-searching. I feel this encapsulates how her songwriting impacts her listeners.

It’s important for me to preface this article by saying that I am not a local. Hailing from a small town, I grew up with a remarkable lack of live music experiences. This is not due to a lacking of musical talent, or creative, driven people, but rather to a sad number of venues; if you didn’t want to go to the (vaguely shit) local pub, there really wasn’t much hope for live music at all. This is one thing that has charmed me about Montreal so much, and has helped develop my passion for local music into a semi-career - there is a venue, good or not, on what feels like every street corner.