Québec Spring is upon us: a Canadian showcase of new music has arrived in the UK
Where to easily find some of the most interesting new music from Montreal and its surrounding area over the next 2 weeks
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