It’s easy to forget about Canada. It’s generally a very quiet country. But from now until July 12th, Montreal will be anything but quiet as the city celebrates its 30th Annual Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. The jazz festival kicked off July 1st with an outdoor performance by Stevie Wonder (a tribute to Michael Jackson), and will continue with 700 (mostly free) concerts until its close on July 12th.
Much of downtown Montreal has been transformed to accommodate the festival’s outdoor performances. And now that the snow has melted (just barely) it’s a wonderful time to celebrate summer—and music—in one of the East Coast’s most dynamic cities. This year’s performers include 3,000 musicians from 22 countries. On the program: Montreal’s own Patrick Watson, the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Cuba’s Los Van Van, Toots & the Maytals, Texan soul-singer Diunna Greenleaf, and Brooklyn-based Beirut (led by Zach Condon).
For those who swore off music forever after Michael Jackson’s death two weeks ago, perhaps you’ll reconsider in the name of jazz.
