POP Montreal 2020 line-up

The POP Montreal 2020 line-up is here!

A festival? Hell yeah.

Yes, POP Montreal is happening! After experimenting with streaming with their Funhouse mini-festival in June, POP is mounting a hybrid edition, from Sept. 23-27. Live shows (at the Rialto, le Ministère and URSA) will have limited capacity, audiences will be seated, sets are scheduled to last for 30 minutes and (brace yourself) the events will be dry. Most shows will also be streamed in a 2D virtual Rialto Theatre, on the Funhouse 2.0 website. Now to the POP Montreal band line-up!

The names announced today include Lido Pimienta (“ecstatic electric cumbia”), Clerel (“classic R&B”) and Tyleen (“hip hop swagger”), as well as Backxwash (“mind-blowing metal rap”), Flore Laurentienne (“cinematic orchestral bliss”), Plants & Animals (“plants make jazz”), Land of Talk (“stream of consciousness rock”), Socalled (“basement jam”), Thanya Iyer (“pizzicato jazz pop”), Paradis Artificiel (“experimental electronic pop”) and Antoine Corriveau (“the dark prophet of French folk-rock”).

“For POP Montreal, it’s more important than ever to bring music, art, and culture to our community in Montreal and beyond. We are proud to support artists who are presenting exciting work and challenging ideas. Yes COVID-19 sucks! But we are adapting and figuring it all out in a safe and responsible way.  This will be a very local edition of the festival with some of the best music coming out of our part of the world right now. There will be fewer shows in socially distanced venues and outdoor locations, and most of the shows will be streamed and available via our website for those who cannot attend in person.”

—POP Montreal on the 2020 edition
POP Montreal on their local-scene line-up

There will also be secret pop-up shows, and as usual the festival will include Film POP screenings, Art POP exhibitions, POP Symposium panel discussions and an outdoor edition of the Puces POP art/artisan sale. More artists will be announced next week. ■

For more about POP Montreal 2020 (line-up, tickets etc), please visit their website.


For more Montreal music coverage, please visit our Music section.