Your daily guide to the Montreal Jazz Fest, June 26 to July 5

With 44 previous editions under its belt, it’s safe to say that the Montreal International Jazz Festival knows a few things about how to program hundreds of acts from all corners of the musical map into a 10-day-long party that officially kicks off summer in the city.

The Cult MTL team will be on-site to report with regular reviews, previews, news and photos as the festival unfolds. And we, too, have a bit of experience to guide readers through the streets of Place des Festivals and the multitude of sounds and styles at our doorstep for the coming week and a half.

Before heading in, here’s a healthy rundown of what we think will get you started on the good foot at the Jazz Fest’s 45th edition, taking place Thursday, June 26 through Saturday, July 5. (Click each date for the complete daily Jazz Fest lineup. )

June 26

On the first night of Jazz Fest, your true love may just be delivered through the sound of Montreal’s own Thanya Iyer. (6 p.m., Pub Molson, free)

Might be a close call at 7 p.m. when another local, Léonie Gray, hits the Club Montréal Loto-Québec stage. (Free)

Because that’s the same time that Philly’s secret weapon Bilal, who has collaborated with a veritable who’s-who of modern pop over the course of this century, breaks in the Rogers Stage. (7 p.m., free)

Our can’t-miss pick of the night, however, is American R&B royalty, headliner and, at 85 years old, a proverbial living legend, Mavis Staples. (TD Stage, 9:30 p.m., free)

June 27

Get your weekend started with brass, beats and bass instruments as the McGill Jazz Orchestra rings in happy hour at the Rio Tinto stage. (5 p.m., free)

Kid Koala brings miniatures, puppets, instruments and one of the sweetest stories ever scratched into existence, The Storyville Mosquito, back to Jazz Fest several times this weekend at Place des Arts’s Cinquième Salle.

They’re busty. They’re bassy. And they’re back. Busty & the Bass is in free-for-all form at 11 p.m. on the outdoor Club Montréal Loto-Québec stage. (11 p.m., free)

Can’t-miss pick, though, is undeniable. Canadian rock legends Blue Rodeo and Jazz Fest get lost together at the TD Stage. (9:30 p.m., free)

June 28

I don’t know who Brekky Boy is, though he doesn’t seem to be Walter Jr. But what the hell? It’s Saturday. Let’s go find out. (TD Stage, 5 p.m., free)

While tickets for Nas and the Symphony Orchestra performing his seminal debut Illmatic at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on June 29 sold out immediately, where there’s a will, there’s a way. Tickets for the show on Saturday are still available.

Our can’t-miss pick for night three is Montreal-based Inuk chanteuse Elisapie, bringing her Uvatinni show out of retirement for the masses to perform gorgeously arranged classic rock covers in her people’s language, Inuktitut (which is also the title of her award-winning 2023 album, a collection of said covers). Expect timeless anthems, reimagined, and a few extra favourites from Elisapie’s catalogue. I’ll step out on a limb and suggest there will likely be a surprise guest or two, as well. (TD Stage, 9:30 p.m., free)

June 29

The Lord’s day is in good shape with a tribute to the gawd MF DOOM by New Jazz Underground. (Studio TD, 10 p.m., free)

Do I need to be some kind of wizard to guess that a nine-piece called Ghost-Note, held together by Snarky Puppy drummer Sput and percussionist Nate Werth, is probably gonna kill? No. No, I don’t. (Rogers Stage, 11 p.m., free)

But before all that jazz, our can’t-miss pick for Sunday is homespun talent Hanorah, staking claim to the big tent. (TD Stage, 7:30 p.m., free)

June 30

It’s Monday at work, but it’s the eve of another holiday and perhaps a long weekend in your head. Or hell, maybe even a sick day, as far as the boss is concerned.

Festival favourites Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue put the Louisiana stomp down on the TD Stage, headlining at 9:30 p.m. (Free)

You know how every now and then, you see a guy and you think, “Hey, that guy looks like Jeff Goldblum?” Well, kids, it’s him! It’s really him! On stage, at Place des Arts, with someone named Mildred Snitzer, or at least her orchestra. (Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, 7:30 p.m., tickets)

Montreal weirdo (and I mean that in the most enthusiastic way possible) Meggie Lennon hits the Club Montréal Loto-Québec at 11 p.m. (Free)

But for our money (well, yours, as it were), Hiatus Kaiyote’s Nai Palm and Montreal’s own Hawa B is a double bill that qualifies easily for Monday’s pick of the day. (Club Soda, 9 p.m., tickets)

July 1

Hey Canada! You’re so fine! You’re so fine that, in order of appearance, Thundercat, Ayra Starr, Branford Marsalis and Mike Shabb all have the chance to blow your mind like a fireworks display you’ll probably only see if you’re in the West Island, instead of at Jazz Fest where you should be. 

Click the links above for ticket info, times and respective Place des Arts halls that TC and Brandford will hold down. Shabb puts on a freebie at 11 p.m. over at Club Montréal Loto-Québec.

But there’s no contest for our top pick this Canada Day. Producer, composer, turntablist and indie hip hop legend RJD2 pays a long overdue return visit to Montreal. Stand on guard. (Club Soda, 9 p.m., tickets)

July 2

Woah! In terms of the final stretch of the fest, we’re halfway there. And if you’re livin’ on a prayer, BON JOVI….no, wait, that’s Ben Harper…is at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, solo. Classic Jazz Fest move. (7:30 p.m., tickets)

Ugh. The Cat Empire. I know someone will be upset if they didn’t hear they were here. Still goin’, these Aussies. But hey, that Meggie Lennon opens! (MTELUS, 8:30 p.m., tickets)

Calling all David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti fanatics: Twin Peaks Show, with Ghislain Leclant & the One Eyed Jacks Band, keeps it surreal with an homage to the cult TV that warped a generation. (SAT, 8:30 (SOLD OUT) and 11 p.m., tickets)

On the TD stage, Quebec darlings Men I Trust headline the outdoors of it all for the evening. (9:30 p.m., free)

But the prime cuts, and our pick for Wednesday, are served by a multinational conglomerate of psychedelic surf and garage turf badasses they call Los Bitchos. If you’re not indoors somewhere tonight, get with this. (TD Stage, 7:30 p.m., free)

July 3

Mississippian Mose Allison said it first, and perhaps British mods The Who said it more infamously: “Well a young man/ ain’t nothin’ in the world these days.”

Don’t try telling that to modern Mississippi blues starchild Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, who pulls the strings at the TD Stage. (7:30 p.m., free)

Montreal’s livest hip hop, soul and R&B improv troupe Le CypherX, no strangers to the late-night after-fest scene, fight the power outdoors, twice. (Rogers Stage, 9 p.m. and again at 11 p.m., free)

See them once and you might just want to see it again. But that would mean missing fellow locals Suuns drone dutifully and beautifully. (Club Montréal Loto-Québec stage, 11 p.m., free)

It’s a tough call for a pick of the night, so play your cards right, make sure the babysitter can stay late, and play the hand we just dealt. 

July 4

It’s the Fourth of July, and whatever that means to you this year, let’s not forget: “We like American music.” And it just so happens alt rock trendsetters Violent Femmes do, too. (Salle Wilfrid Pelletier, 7:30 p.m., tickets)

If you don’t know, pianist Taurey Butler and his band throw down annually during the holiday season at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Bourgie Hall with an absolutely ripping take on the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas. Tonight, I suppose Butler will come with a program that’s a little less seasonal, but no less sensational. (Studio TD, 6 p.m., free)

Our pick of the day comes courtesy of Karneef (who opened earlier this week for Clown Core at MTELUS, and was recently featured in Cult MTL), on whose authority we have it that California duo Dolphin Hyperspace is absolutely not to be missed. (Pub Molson, 8 and 10 p.m., free)

July 5

The 45th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival comes to a close.

The infinite jest of Sun Ra Arkestra carries its storied influence into a 75th year and appears for a very special early evening tripout. (Rogers Stage, 7 p.m., free)

Montreal-based Thai drummer, composer, singer and bandleader Salin returns to the fest with an indoor set and whatever she’s got up her sleeves for 2025, it’s gonna bounce. (Studio TD, 10 p.m., free)

Pianist Jean-Michel Blais and harpist Lara Somogyi bless the halls of le Gésu with a performance of their recent joint effort, désert. (Le Gesù, 10:30 p.m., tickets)

Our pick of the day for last night of the fest? Walking around, checking things out, enjoying the city, our cultures and each other’s presence for one last collective dance under the night sky.

BONUS CUT: This year, every night of the festival from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., Music Is My Sanctuary presents L’AfterJazz Vinyl Jams. Dance into the wee hours with some of the city’s very best selectors, free as a bird at le Studio TD. ■

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For the complete festival schedule and to buy tickets, please visit the Montreal Jazz Fest website.

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