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Festivals are without a doubt one of Montreal’s essential nutrients. We have one for every season, every culture, every music genre and every unique aspect of Montreal. So you can imagine my excitement when I first heard of M for Montreal. This four-day, bilingual music festival founded by Sébastien Nasra and Martin Elbourne in 2006 has been promoting local artists within Montreal and on the international level with showcases at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York. This year was my first year being able to attend some of their great shows and I’m so glad I made it out. I was truly impressed with the professionalism of the entire festival; their promotion was super on point, all the shows started exactly when they said they would and they even had a series of panel discussion aimed towards people starting out in the industry. The best part though, was the great turn out at all the showcases. It’s pretty amazing when you can manage to fill The Belmont with spectators and media for the first act. Now I could go on and on about each show I saw but there were so many good ones that I’m going to have to limit myself to the three acts that made the biggest mark for me: Street Hearts, Jonathan Emile and Alaclair Ensemble.

Lets get the ball rolling with the amazing girls from Street Hearts. Gabrielle Godon and Emma Beko have been on the scene less than a year now, dropping their debut album in April 2011, and yet they have already participated in countless Montreal festivals, launched their debut video clip and released a new single. These two girls win the most proactive new artist of year award without a doubt, and the best thing about them is that they’ve stayed true through it all. When I went to go see them on November 17th at the Belmont, the two adorable girl-next-door looking girls were just kicking back before their performance enjoying the vibes of the first act. They looked so laid back that you would never expect to get blown away by their performance, but of course they killed it, yet again. Gabrielle’s rustic, sexy voice kept us captivated on every note and Emma’s unassuming rap swag was so refreshingly true to who she is, that we all wanted more. Their set was only a mere thirty minutes but they managed to really connect with the crowd and let their personalities shine through. Looking out into the crowd I was impressed to see a sea of girls miming the words to every song and I realized that Street Hearts are something Montreal really needs: positive female rap idols.

That same night I also had the chance to see Montreal’s own, but also internationally recognized, Jonathan Emile. You’d think that after being nominated for a Grammy Award he wouldn’t accept to do a thirty minute opening act but, like any other humble Montreal artist, not only did he accept to do it, he came with full energy. Jonathan Emile has for a while now been one of my favorite local artists and that night I was reminded why: you can’t fit this guy in a box. First off, when’s the last time you saw an MC do a show with a DJ and a saxophone player?! Just that extra element within itself made me love his set but also everything was so clean and well thought out. He had wonderful stage presence and came out into the crowd to be closer to his fans; he even gave away over a dozen free CDs. Now, I go to at least two shows a week and I am often faced with the disappointing truth that some of my favorite artists are terrible performers and I’m not afraid to say it, so believe me when I say that Jonathan Emile is a great artist and most definitely a naturally great performer.

The last act I want to highlight are the crazy, fun-loving guys from Alaclair Ensemble. I don’t know if any of you have ever gone to see an indoor show at 2 in the afternoon, but I have many times and I usually never enjoy it because my afternoon mind can never really get into the whole musical experience. During this show I realized that it actually had nothing to do with my afternoon mind but rather that the acts I’ve seen in the past didn’t have game like Alaclair Ensemble has game. Within two minutes of their set people were jumping around and even the most professional looking media reps couldn’t help but smile and bop their heads. Alaclair came on stage all wearing the most outrageously colorful costumes and a sum of energy that could probably keep Montreal rolling for decades. They were jumping and rapping and just killing each bar. It reminded me of a young Wu-Tang style concert where each rapper was super clean and clearly strongly backed by their super crew. This French Canadian rap crew really knows how to entertain and without a doubt knows how to make music. I’m not usually a fan of what I call ‘hyper’ rap, where the beat pumps faster than my heart ever could, but if the music is hype and the raps are tight I have to give props. Alaclair was a first time live for me but I definitely won’t miss the next one. Hopefully it’s at night this time cause there’s something odd about coming out of crazy concert feeling high off the music at 3pm and seeing a mom feed her baby.

All in all, as I said before, the M for Montreal Festival was really an amazing experience for me. For those who missed it, make sure to check out mformontreal.com to stay posted for next year.

-MF Gold co-hosts Say Word! with Caity every Wednesday from 3-4pm

A 22-year-old man was arrested on Saturday.

He had stolen car and lead police on a high-speed car chase through N.D.G.

Police say they knew the suspect. He is due to appear in court today and will face armed robbery charges.

A twelve-year old girl escaped after three teenagers tried to light her on fire on Friday evening in Saguenay.

The young girl showed up at one of the suspect’s home with her friend when the teens attacked her.

The teens doused the girl with gasoline contained in empty beer bottles and lit multiple matches at her.

The victim managed to escape and return to her parents, and they alerted the authorities.

Charges have been laid against the three Saguenay teens.

Police are investigating the incident.

They said the attack seemed to have been planned by the three teens.