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Montreal’s International Jazz Festival: Highlights from Days 1 & 2
Every summer, the Montreal International Jazz Festival takes over the city with a vibrant, genre-spanning lineup that celebrates the best of live music from around the globe. The 2025 edition kicked off with a bang, offering two dynamic opening days that showcased the festival’s diversity—from avant-garde performance art and traditional Latin folk to high-energy brass bands and iconic Canadian rock.
Despite scattered rain showers, fans filled venues, streets, and outdoor stages, proving once again that nothing can dampen Montreal’s passion for music. Here’s a look at some of the standout performances from Days 1 and 2 of this world-class event.
Clowncore
Clowncore is less a band and more a mind-bending performance art experience. The experimental electronic/hardcore duo, known for their anonymity and clown outfits, delivered a set that defied all norms. The night began with a silent man sitting onstage in a chair, eventually bumming a cigarette from someone in the audience and smoking it for 15 surreal minutes. This strange prologue was filmed on a camcorder and projected behind him, only adding to the tension. When the lights finally cut out, Clowncore stormed the stage on drums and keyboard, launching into a chaotic blend of growling vocals, frenetic beats, and glitchy visuals.
Space footage and nightmarish videos flashed across the screen as the crowd erupted into a frenzy of moshing and crowd surfing. Clowncore isn’t just a concert—it’s a sensory overload you need to witness live to understand. They blurred the line between concert, performance art, and controlled madness.
Natalia Lafourcade
On the second night of performances, Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade graced the stage of Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place Des Arts, enchanting a full house with her soft, heartfelt vocals. Her intimate presence and gentle guitar work created an atmosphere that felt spiritual and grounding. Natalia’s style, rooted in traditional Mexican folk with elegant classical influences, was a beautiful contrast to the chaos of the previous night’s acts.
Her set was a reminder of the emotional power of simplicity, connecting with the audience on a deeply human level. Each lyric and chord seemed to hush the rain outside and draw the crowd closer. Her show felt like a quiet celebration of culture, identity, and timeless music—a highlight for anyone craving soul and substance. Lafourcade’s ability to fill such a grand venue with such understated beauty is a testament to her brilliance as a performer.
Normand Guilbeault Ensemble Joue Mingus
The Normand Guilbeault Ensemble’s tribute to jazz legend Charles Mingus was a masterclass in musical homage. This incredibly talented orchestra filled the theatre with rich brass textures, wild rhythm sections, and emotionally powerful vocals. Multiple singers joined the ensemble throughout the night, each one adding a new layer to the sprawling tribute. Despite the rainy evening, the crowd came alive, clapping, singing, and moving in sync with the music. Their energy created a dialogue between audience and stage that felt electric.
The band’s interpretations of Mingus’ work were not only respectful but also refreshingly dynamic. Every instrument was given room to breathe, with solos that showed off the musicians’ virtuosity and group numbers that swelled with joyful chaos. The show felt like a jazz revival—celebrating not just Mingus, but the power of live music to turn a stormy night into something magical.
Balkan Paradise Orchestra
Balkan Paradise Orchestra lit up the night with unstoppable energy and vibrant sound. The all-women group from Barcelona brought a wild mix of Balkan rhythms, Latin percussion, and powerful brass that immediately got the audience moving. Since forming in 2015, they’ve earned a reputation for explosive live performances, and they lived up to the hype. Their set was a whirlwind of motion—dancing, marching, playing—with instruments ranging from tubas to snare drums and beyond. Their stage presence was magnetic, creating a contagious atmosphere that no rainstorm could dampen.
Every member of the ensemble brought their own flair, but together they functioned as one joyful, high-octane machine. The performance was a celebration of cultural fusion and feminine power, combining tradition with bold originality. Balkan Paradise Orchestra proved that music can be both technically impressive and insanely fun, a real highlight of the festival.
Kombilesa Mi
Kombilesa Mi brought the warmth of the Afro-Caribbean coast to the rain-soaked streets of Montreal. Hailing from Colombia, this Afro-Colombian group turned a small stage into a pulsing heartbeat of rhythm and culture. With drum-heavy grooves, traditional call-and-response vocals, and hip-hop energy, their music had the crowd dancing nonstop—umbrellas and all. Despite the weather, their infectious spirit never wavered. Their lyrics, often rooted in African heritage and social consciousness, gave their set a sense of depth and purpose beyond the party vibe.
Every beat seemed to resist the gloom of the evening, turning the space into a carnival of movement and joy. Kombilesa Mi showed how smaller stages can sometimes offer the most profound and memorable moments. Their performance was more than music—it was resilience, community, and rhythm in its purest form.
Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo closed out the night in legendary fashion, proving why they’re one of Canada’s most enduring and beloved bands. Playing to a rain-soaked but massive crowd at Place Des Arts, the Toronto group delivered a powerful set packed with hits, energy, and nostalgia. For longtime fans like myself, it was a full-circle moment—my second time seeing them, and somehow even better than the first. Jim Cuddy’s voice remains as strong and stirring as ever, and the band’s chemistry, even 41 years into their career, was undeniable.
Guitar solos ripped through the rain as the crowd sang every lyric in unison, stretching all the way back to Rue Sainte-Catherine. The atmosphere was electric, despite the weather, and the band fed off that energy, giving back everything they had. Their performance was the perfect ending—timeless, heartfelt, and a true celebration of Canadian music at its finest.
A Powerful Start to a World-Class Festival
If the first two days of the Montreal International Jazz Festival are any indication, audiences are in for a thrilling ride this year. From the chaotic genius of Clowncore to the emotional richness of Natalia Lafourcade and the crowd-pleasing power of Blue Rodeo, these opening performances delivered something for every musical taste.
Rain or shine, the spirit of the festival remained unshakable, with artists and fans alike embracing the moment and making memories that will last long after the final note. With many more days still to come, Montreal has once again proven it’s one of the most exciting places in the world to experience live music.
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