POP Montreal drops its complete 2022 music festival lineup

The 21st edition of the POP Montreal International Music Festival is happening from Sept. 28 through Oct. 2, and today they dropped the complete 2022 lineup, adding roughly 100 names to the first wave of programming that was announced back in May.

Along with Montreal singer-songwriters Allison Russell and Martha Wainwright, Chicago post-rock heroes Tortoise, L.A. punks the Linda Lindas, U.K. funk pioneers Cymande, Ghanaian electro rapper Ata Kak and Canada’s Drag Race 2020 winner Priyanka, POP Montreal has announced shows featuring local electro-pop act Tess Roby, “post-pow wow experimentalist” Joe Rainey, “Latinx pop princess” Isabella Lovestory, Toronto rapper maverick Witch Prophet, Indigenous futurists Ombiigizi, local post-classical act Esmerine, Ottawa indie pop act maxime., punk-pop act Sophia Bel and more.

In addition to the music side of POP Montreal, the festival has unveiled details of its visual art and movie programming as well as panels and activities and entertainment for kids.

Art POP will host its annual group exhibition in a new space, Projet Casa, with additional film screenings, literary readings and workshops into various spaces surrounding POP Quarters in Mile End. These events include Time Metaphor, a collaboration between POP and the Quebec organization LOVE — which organizes programs that teach youth about healthy relationships, building emotional intelligence and how to overcome other challenges — as well as Lectures POP Reads, a night of readings by Montreal authors, co-presented by Expozine.

Film POP promises 10 screenings of “this year’s best in music documentary filmmaking, as well as recent restorations of woefully underseen gems.”

The big news in the POP Symposium department is that the new director is Eve Parker Finley, who has programmed “an inspiring suite of hands-on workshops and panel discussions aimed at empowering the next generation of artists to build sustainable careers.”

Kids POP 2022 features a butterfly puppet workshop at Entrepot77 followed by a puppet show by Montreal musician Socalled, on Oct. 2.

And of course the Puces POP art/artisanal market from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

POP Montreal Creative Director Dan Seligman made a statement ahead of this notable edition of the festival, the first since 2019 that’s not subject to considerable pandemic-related restrictions.

“It’s time to get excited, plan your schedules and also remember what we’ve learned over the last couple of years. The notion of ‘going back to normal’ isn’t really POP Montreal’s jam. We will forever be moving forward, doing our best to care of our community and create spaces that allow for all kinds of voices to come together. One of the lessons we’ve learned over the ‘panini’ is that being in relation with each other is the essential ingredient of culture. So let’s come together and experience the most delicious musical sandwich the city can offer. We’re thrilled to fill in the festival palette with all kinds of awesome gems.”

—Dan Seligman

For more about the 2022 edition of POP Montreal and to buy tickets, please visit the festival’s website.

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