Twenty years in, and M for Montréal still sounds like tomorrow

When it comes to inner-city music festivals, there’s an unspoken secret set that comes to define every one of them. For all the dashing between shows and jaw-dropping moments where a new band comes and captures something deeper in your gut, that secret trick up its sleeve decides just how brilliant a time you’re having: the city itself.

M For Montréal might just have the very best in that case. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the festival has grown and grown into a vital pillar of the Québécois music community. Scratch that: an essential pillar of the Canadian music community. Scratch that: an essential pillar of the global music community.

Recognising the pivotal role that the right platform plays for bands, it attracts a mix of global fans and tastemakers to Montréal, offering a glimpse of the exciting and unique. The outcasts, the independent thinkers and the boundary-pushers can be found across these streets, and in 2026, that’s no different. If the spirit of Montréal is that of an underdog, M For Montréal is the underdog who’s become a heavyweight champion.

A rumble of freshness rings out at each turn. Spread across a near-week, it’s a festival that hand-picks artists they’re in awe of and firmly have their backs. The Official Selection curates a diverse group of acts, spreading them across nights at venues that change as each day passes.

It ensures you’re on your toes, and for good reason. The Montréal, Québécois and Canadian music scene is pushed to the front, with this moment acting as a calling card for bands to connect with fans and tastemakers alike. M For Montréal does what new music festivals should always do: become the greatest matchmaker on the planet between artist, fans and the world.

Cupid’s finest work starts early, and as the week goes on, it becomes M For Montréal’s calling card: putting artists impossible to take your eyes off right at the centre. Not many shows include a moment where the act prepares a “meal”, puts a table in the front row for two fans to sit at, then squirts whipped cream into the mouths of everyone else in that row.

Annie-Claude Deschênes can say that, with a show of donking club ridiculousness in the best way possible. A Confidence Man level of party culture and spectacle hits you right away, but her MO feels pure late-00s indietronic-punk. Bright, in-your-face, and totally shameless, it’s a shaking start that puts any jet lag to dirt.

The set is nothing short of stunning, and one you’d happily have take over any afterparty going.

When Piss take to the stage on Wednesday night, the sheer hype the Vancouver four-piece carry is swirling in the air. Not only do they demolish the room, but they also stop every single person in their tracks with a set that spotlights not just how good they are, but also how important. Crashing noise-punk breakdowns that call to mind Death Grips and Gilla Band light fire to moshpits, but it’s their message that rings louder.

Lead singer Taylor Zantingh is a ripped-raw figurehead for a band who dig into female identity and the harrowing grip of sexual abuse in ways that silence the room. Even just breathing into the mic sends shivers up the spine. This is a band who feel like a vital lightning rod for something bigger than music.

It pulls you in completely: their presence silences the room and clears out any other thoughts you might have. Transfixing to watch, you have to step back and take in every second. If you want a Dork guarantee, Piss are about to become the band everyone is talking about for the year to come. Like the very DNA of M For Montréal, you heard it here first.

The different extremes of genre show just how eclectic M For Montréal is. It’s not about catering to one world, but fostering an environment where popping your head in to see who’s playing is guaranteed to grab your interest.

On night one, it’s the bulldozing Truck Violence who shake the place with the sort of visceral power that has moshpits booting over naysayers. Frontman Karsyn Henderson is the perfect combination of hardcore band leader and ballet dancer on stage, meaning you can’t keep your eyes off them. If there’s a band from Canada ready to explode in the sweetest rooms going, it’s Truck Violence.

Likewise, the following night, the French-speaking pop of BéLi is sharp to the touch, with a live show that locks in their superstar potential from the start.

As the first band to play the Dork’s Night Out three-day takeover at L’Esco, Crasher are transfixing. 80s neon synths meet strutting confidence, and the result is an opening salvo that teases more. Firmly in control of the room, they’re a band embracing dream-wide vision with a gritty punch.

distraction4ever’s set at L’Esco is a revelation. Built on an undercurrent of bubbling 80s dark-pop, the rave-alt world they create is truly intoxicating. Smoke fills the venue, and under the haze of mystery, they become the people you want to find at a house party at 2am because they’ll take you on a night you’ll never forget, but will be hard to remember.

Confidence Man meets The Dare and everything in between over melodic bass lines, and distraction4ever become a rapid standout.

The night has properly fallen, and it’s Gloin’s for the taking. Headlining night one at L’Esco, they wear it like a badge of honour, one aimed at ripping the fuck out of every corner of the venue. It’s a post-hardcore heavyweight set that wants bodies jumping, and gets exactly that.

In the vein of the very best bands doing it right now (think Sprints, Gilla Band and the lot), it’s unstoppable in its energy, turning the walls of L’Esco into a riot.

The morning after, upstairs in a DIY studio space tucked away on a city street, Geneviève Rachette transfixes the room with a magical set that draws on the very best of modern folk. Harmonies bounce between the three of them onstage, with Geneviève locking in with everyone.

The heartbreaking ‘Same Old Me’ is a highlight of a breathtaking intro, perfect for fans of Maisie Peters, Maggie Rogers and First Aid Kit. It feels like it’s been pulled from a diary and wrapped around you like a warm blanket.

Equally as engaging is Fernie, an R&B-infused singer who takes to the DIY space as if it were a grand arena; the tracks support that ambition, capturing the room with pop grooves and an immediate presence that comes from an artist enjoying every second. From devastating solo piano ballads to infectious twists, Fernie has it.

Speaking of wrapped, sundayclub follow shortly afterwards with fizzing indie prowess and a sound that feels fully formed and universal in its appeal. Dreamwaved and dunked in darkness with a hint of sugar sweetness, sundayclub nail the heart of being a great band, and could drop into any scene ready to take it on.

Later in the night, KuleeAngee make yet another claim to be the best party band going, turning a tiny downstairs basement into a disco-ball revelation. No matter the stage or city, KuleeAngee make the room fall in love with them. Electric dance grooves have never sounded so great. Montréal done. Now the world.

Friday night at the Dork’s Night Out takeover at L’Esco thrives on pushing boundaries, and Kandle lays the blueprint from the jump. Swaggering garage rock infused with bluesy bite, as if Lana Del Rey smacked into a Tarantino motion picture, rings true. A ripped cover of David Bowie’s ‘Lazarus’ is thrown in for good measure.

Kandle is uncompromising rock buzz that should be tearing through every scrappy venue worth its salt over the next 12 months.

If alternative hooks galore are your bag, get in line for Apacalda. A glorious mix of Blondshell-meets-grunge kicks makes tonight feel electric, a homecoming moment that sees friends and fans stack L’Esco to the rafters.

Spells fall, then Babyteeth takes the stage for a closing set that is mesmerising in its ability to hook you in. Carrying herself like a superstar already, that intoxicating blend of shoegazing power and dreamy haze spellbinds L’Esco into a whole other realm. Fans are primed down the front, and no beers are spilt, which honestly feels like a miracle.

Babyteeth isn’t just introducing herself; she’s making an impact, and if this is the beginning, then the possibilities are endless for the world she’s about to build.

Down a suburban street that looks cut from a Hollywood movie, up warehouse stairs and through a kitchen, M For Montréal plays host to Les Louanges. After spending months in the studio, today is a grooving, infectious slice of fun as their Phoenix-esque set builds and flicks to a sax-filled crescendo.

It’s impossible to resist, for a band who should be soundtracking summers around the globe.

Over at another studio space, the weaving journeys of M For Montréal lead to songwriter Matt Holubowski. Cosy and intimate, early Fleet Foxes woodland charm meets immediate personality as the room gathers in seated awe. A dose of magic in places you’d never expect once again defines M For Montréal.

Saturday night arrives, and night three of the Dork’s Night Out takeover sees L’Esco lean wholly into weekend party vibes. Koko Love opens proceedings with a set that soars with ambition. Royel Otis meets Dominic Fike in a glorious mix that puts aura firmly into the equation, revelling in the showmanship of it all.

It’s intoxicating to fall into his syrupy world, and the next chapter feels global.

Blue Material take the stage with one firm goal: grab the soundtrack of the night with both hands and take everyone stacked into L’Esco on a ride of grooving brilliance. There’s a slickness reminiscent of Parcels, but a chopping heart that rings like Yellow Days and the best of the South London jazz scene.

The real winner, though, is the atmosphere. It can’t be tamed or denied, as shuffling hooks and jazzy refrains spellbind. They’re going to become your favourite jukebox, and it started here first.

If there’s a band better suited to closing out three days of Dork chaos at L’Esco than Kiwi Jr, we’d bloody love to hear about it. Swooning alt-rock slacker bangers born for open-air car rides home land perfectly for a feel-good festival moment. Their set hits at precisely the right time, revelling in the dreaming fun of it all, and the crowd agrees and then some.

It’s raw and direct, exactly what you want to draw a curtain over an M For Montréal that bubbles with the exciting.

There’s a reason so many keep coming back to M For Montréal. Whether it’s the unexpected that always feels two steps away, or that sense of communal celebration that comes from watching artists who’ve grafted across these streets make their bold statement, it adds up to a week of music discovery that feels distinctively fresh.

More than that, you leave brimming with excitement, confident that the next 12 months in new music are in the safest of hands. Being in the room and witnessing a moment, there’s no festival on the planet so welcoming.