Every year, Montreal shuts down a large part of its city core for a massive international music festival. Dozens of huge stages are set up for hundreds of (mostly free!) concerts over the course of about 10 days. Since most concerts are free, you can kinda just wander around and listen to music. It's mostly focused on jazz, but all genres of music are represented. If one artist doesn't appeal to you, just go to another stage and check something else out! There's nothing else quite like it in the world-- Wikipedia estimates 2 million people visit each year and headliners can sometimes attract crowds of over 200,000! I went in 2023 and loved every second of it. At time of writing this, I just got back from the 2025 festival (I went for four nights!) and thought it might be interesting to write up a review of some of my favorite shows I saw. I'm worried my saxophone page might make it look like jazz/jazz-adjacent music is dead since that page mostly pays tribute to the old masters, but that isn't true. Use the iPod below to check out some great modern-day artists!
Nubya Garcia
Nubya Garcia was one of the artists I knew going into the festival. She might have the best tenor saxophone tone in the world today, and it was such a treat seeing her play. Something I noticed about really pro sax players like her is that it looks like she's almost squeezing her sax when she plays-- her fingers never leave the sax keys even a centimeter because lifting your fingers that extra centimeter just means it's another centimeter they need to travel, should that key need to be pressed. It's total command of the instrument: all notes are available instantly. There's no searching, no hesitation... she makes playing saxophone seem as effortless as talking. Check out her NPR Tiny Desk concert!
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Trombone Shorty might be the most famous living trombone player, and for good reason. He is an amazing showman and really hyped the crowd up. He was one of the big headliners, so there were probably over 100,000 filling the surrounding city blocks. Towards the end of the set, he came into the crowd and came right up to me! (See GIF below!!)
Sumak Brass Band
I couldn't find much information about this band online, but I think they are another local Montreal jazz band. They play Turkish and Balkan inspired music, so I wanted to give them a shoutout because I've never heard anything like that before! Really unique and fun music... Check them out!
Julien Fillion
I wasn't familiar with Julien, so I found him by randomly wandering around and trying to find something cool.. I'm so glad I wandered his way! He's a Montreal local who plays some really groovy sax beats. He's got two drumset players in his band, which I thought was a little excessive at first, but they were so locked in locked in. It was awesome! With your eyes closed, it sounds like there's only one drummer, until you realize that one drummer must have four hands. Check out his newest album!
Derrick Hodge
Oh. My. God. This was one of the best musical experiences I've ever had in my life. Somehow, I was unfamiliar with Derrick Hodge, a bass player whose trio also consists of drums and keys, but that has thankfully been remedied, as I've been going through his discography ever since experiencing this show. Each musician was so locked in... it was like they were casting a magical spell on the audience. Similar to how Nubya Garcia seemingly effortlessly spoke truth through her saxophone, Derrick Hodge did so with his bass. And boy, did he have a LOT to say. There was absolutely no hesitation, no thinking about notes or chords. He speaks the language of music so effortlessly and it felt like his soul was absolutely dying to share this music with the world. Check out the Color of Noize, the title track off his 2020 album
Los Bitchos / Men I Trust Julius Rodriguez
It rained that day, so a lot of the outdoor concerts were cancelled or delayed, including Los Bitchos and Men I Trust. I was most looking forward to Men I Trust (and, since they are from Quebec, they are kind of hometown heroes), but I missed most of their set because I decided to see an indoor concert while it was storming outside. While I am sad I missed most of their set, I am happy I discovered Julius Rodriguez. Once again, it's amazing to discover truly world-class musicians you never knew existed. He's a total piano master who brings jazz into the modern era. Check out his NPR Tiny Desk!
Fantastic Negrito
Fantastic Negrito was easily the best showman of my time at the festival. He came out wearing a shiny gold cape painted with the words DICTATOR OF TASTE. He almost felt like a John Waters character singing the blues, and it was SO much fun to experience. His first song began with the refrain “Aliens came down to Earth and said EAT LESS SUGAR, AND HAVE MORE SEX!”
Fievel is Glauque
I've been a big fan of Fievel is Glauque since their debut studio album, Flaming Swords, so this was my most anticipated show. Unfortunately, the first part of their set was mired with electronic issues, but once it got sorted out they were amazing. To my surprise, they mostly played new, unreleased songs. It's always nice to hear old favorites, but it was cool to hear new stuff too! Check out this single off their newest record!
Fantastic Negrito looking... fantastic!
Trombone Shorty walked through the crowd right to me!
The Biggest Jazz Festival in the World
Every year, Montreal shuts down a large part of its city core for a massive international music festival. Dozens of huge stages are set up for hundreds of (mostly free!) concerts over the course of about 10 days. Since most concerts are free, you can kinda just wander around and listen to music. It's mostly focused on jazz, but all genres of music are represented. If one artist doesn't appeal to you, just go to another stage and check something else out! There's nothing else quite like it in the world-- Wikipedia estimates 2 million people visit each year and headliners can sometimes attract crowds of over 200,000! I went in 2023 and loved every second of it. At time of writing this, I just got back from the 2025 festival (I went for four nights!) and thought it might be interesting to write up a review of some of my favorite shows I saw. I'm worried my saxophone page might make it look like jazz/jazz-adjacent music is dead since that page mostly pays tribute to the old masters, but that isn't true. Use the iPod below to check out some great modern-day artists!
