Wednesday, July 19

* Dicko Fils and Mokoomba free shows at Festival Nuits d’Afrique
* Backyard Sessions with Year of Glad, Toddler and Kindly
* The Nasty Show
* AWAKE, A Dream From Standing Rock and NOUS NOUS SOULÈVERONS at Parc Laurier
* Re-tros with the Marquis

mokoomba

Mokoomba

If tonight’s Metallica or Ed Sheeran shows aren’t your bag (or within your budget), you might want to check out a free outdoor gig at Festival Nuits d’Afrique. Burkina Faso’s Dicko Fils — whose sound combines Ivorian reggae and Mandinka blues — is playing sets at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the TD/Ici-Musique and Sphère TV5 stages, respectively, while Zimbabwe’s Mokoomba bring their blend of Zambezi Valley beats, funk, ska and soukous to the TD-Ici Musique stage at 9:30 p.m. Clark & De Montigny, free

KickDrum and CJLO’s outdoor concert series Backyard Sessions returns this evening at Mile End laundromat café Blanc de Blanc with performances from Year of Glad, Toddler and Kindly (aka Cult MTL Best of MTL Readers’ Poll #4 Best Barista, Dispatch Coffee’s Sarv). 248 Villeneuve W., 7 p.m., $5/PWYC

Just For Laughs is now in full swing, and starting tonight you can catch the fest’s most offensive show, The Nasty Show at Metropolis featuring sets from comedians Jimmy Carr, Robert Kelly, Godfrey, Big Jay Oakerson and Yamaneika Saunders plus host Ari Shaffir. 59 Ste-Catherine E., 8:30 p.m., $44.99–$60.49, runs through July 27

Montreal’s nomadic politically-minded outdoor film screening series sets up in Parc Laurier this evening with a presentation of the 2017 documentary AWAKE, A Dream From Standing Rock taking a closer look at the Indigenous-led resistance movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Preceding the doc will be the short film NOUS NOUS SOULÈVERONS by Innu Natasha Kanapé Fontaine. Parc Laurier, 9 p.m., free

Beijing post-punk trio Re-tros play le Ritz, but be punctual to catch local opening act the Marquis. 179 Jean-Talon W., 9:30 p.m., $10/$13

For more music events, see our Event Listings. Art Listings can be found here.