The Canadian province of Québec (where you’ll find the country’s most exciting and eclectic new music scene in the city of Montreal), certainly knows how to pay respect to its burgeoning artists. Around this time each year, they fly a bunch of them in to the UK for 3 weeks of special gigs and showcases to show us what we’ve been missing. Some take place at existing, wider events, like Brighton’s The Great Escape, Edinburgh’s Wide Days, and Wrexham’s FOCUS Wales, while other, standalone shows happen in independent venues all across the country.

As a part of the world that’s given us everything from Leonard Cohen to Godspeed You! Black Emperor; Mac DeMarco to Grimes; tUnE-yArDs, to Big Brave, you can see why Montreal and its wider area wants to support its new artists in this way. For the 2024 edition of Québec Spring they bring us electroclash multi-instrumentalist (and composer for HBO’s Big Little Lies) ALIAS, new wave art pop 5-piece La Sécurité, and scratchy riot grrrl duo DVTR, (Laurence Giroux-Do and JC Tellier from Montreal Italo disco trio Le Couleur). Also: French language psych pop group Bon Enfant, cosmic R&B artist Soran, and Corridor, who not only have one of the best names in indie rock (I mean, how wasn’t Corridor taken?), but one of the best sleeves in recent years, for their fourth album Mimi, released earlier this year on Sub Pop.

Check all of them out on the playlist below, and find Québec Spring’s remaining live shows below that, visiting Brighton, Wrexham, Liverpool, Leeds, London, Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Coventry. When they’re gone, they’re gone… Until next year.

9 May

@ FOCUS Wales

M for Montreal Reception @Penny Black Room 2 (Wrexham) – 20:00

M for Montreal showcase @Penny Black Room 2 (Wrexham) – from 20:30 to 23:10

La Sécurité / Bon Enfant / DVTR / ALIAS

10 May

@ FOCUS Wales

Bon Enfant @The Rockin’ Chair 1 (Wrexham) – 19:15

DVTR @The Rockin’ Chair 2 (Wrexham) – 22:45

On Tour

La Sécurité @Kazimier Stockroom (Liverpool) – from 19:45

11 May

On Tour

Bon Enfant @In Colour Festival – Brudenell Social Club (Leeds) – 14:00

La Sécurité @Sneaky Pete’s (Edinburgh) – from 19:00

@ FOCUS Wales

ALIAS @The Rockin’ Chair 2 (Wrexham) – 19:00

12 May

On Tour

La Sécurité @Just Dropped In Records (Coventry) – from 18:30

Bon Enfant @Band on the Wall (Manchester) – 20:30

May 13

Networking Reception @The Québec Government Office in London – from 3pm
(invite only)

On Tour

La Sécurité @Big Hands (Manchester) – Times TBA

May 14

Canadian Showcase

Soran @Studio1 – Strongroom (London) – 18:15

On Tour

La Sécurité @The Lanes (Bristol) – 19:30

Bon Enfant @Hare & Hounds (Birmingham) – 19:30

May 15

On Tour

Bon Enfant @The Lanes (Bristol) – 19:30

16 May

@ The Great Escape Festival

M For Montreal/ NZ Music Commission Mixer: What’s 14000 Kilometres between friends? @Patterns Upstairs (Brighton) – 12:00 RSVP here

M for Montreal showcase @Patterns Upstairs (Brighton) – from 12:15

La Sécurité

Haviah Mighty

Choses Sauvages

Mock Media

Bon Enfant @Acid Box Super Fuzz Weekender (Brighton) – 21:00

(La Sécurité is playing late night Thursday / early Friday in Brighton)

17 May

@ The Great Escape Festival

La Sécurité @Patterns Upstairs (Brighton) – 1:30

Corridor @Canada House, Green Door Store (Brighton) – 15:30

Bon Enfant @Canada House, Green Door Store (Brighton) – 16:10

(Bon Enfant playing late night Friday / early Saturday in London)

18 May

@ The Great Escape Festival

Bon Enfant @Dust (Brighton) – 00:15

Soran @Canada House, Green Door Store (Brighton) – 13:30

Soran @The Prince Albert (Brighton) – 23:30

On Tour

Bon Enfant @The Shacklewell Arms (London) – 19:00