M for Montreal 2024 | Top 10 Acts You Can’t Miss This Week

Music industry insiders from the four corners of the world are descending upon our fair city for four days of contact and connections, mingling, carousing, and riotous hobnobbing to the eclectic sounds of  a new generation of up and comers this weekend (November 20th – 24th) for this year’s M for Montreal.

Crossing all genres, styles and barriers, M for Montréal  connects artists, producers, promoters, and agents, driving them to show the make of their metal and reveal the very fibers of their fabric content with the  knowledge that M for Montréal might be the best place in the world to discover emerging local artists this week.

To ensure you see the very best and don’t waste your time on any half steppers, we here at Best Kept MTL have curated a top 10 list for ya of things to check out. They are listed in no particular order. Check it out:

Hometown hero, Kroy is starting out these proceedings. She popped onto the scene with a splash about 8 years ago opening for Coeur de Pirate all over this province and she’s since made a bit of a name for herself. Remember Milk & Bone? From like ten years ago? No? Well anyways she was part of that fabled duo and to this day she’ll take you on a musical journey to distant lands somewhere above in the ionosphere. Her higher octave milky smooth voice accompanied by electronic beats that start slow and built speed till the deep explosive bass rocks you to the bone. You can catch her at CISM tonight!

If you’re looking to switch things up dramatically and you’re Actually in the mood for a straight haired white chick with a sing songy voice over slow melodic electronic beats (see what I did there ) or if you just missed Kroy and  want something that basically sounds the same, check out Charlie Houston. Houston’s got range, one minute she’ll sound exactly like Kroy and the next she’ll hit you with a punky energetic single like Pink Cheetah Print Slip that sounds exactly like Le Tigre’s Deceptacon except with waay less energy, style, flare or pizzaz. Then she’ll turn around and sound exactly like Joni Mitchell. She’s young but with an old soul and a cool attitude, and she seems like a really nice person. Truly a woman of her era, Houston doesn’t appear to want you dancing necessarily… She probably just wants you  kinda nodding your head slowly and maybe doing that Courtney Cox dance move from Dancing in the Dark. Try and catch her over at Club Soda November 21st.

Jaron Marshall is a smooth motherfuckin’ cat. A skilled pianist and jazz musician who deftly mixes classic lounge, with hints of hip-hop, electronic and jazz with a touch of New Orleans flare. This “Neo-Soul Texan Negro” is starting to make waves on the international scene earning the respect of officionados the world over. His live shows feature a lot of improv and a chill laid back vibe. It’s the kind of music that just feels better live, loud and in intimate settings with the lights dimmed low and the warmth of a lover swaying in your arms pressed against your chest. If you’re into mics and dim lights, and you want something to carry you away some place grande and old school, give Mr. Marshall a try.

90’s club kids are back baby! Somewhere between Technotronics Pump Up the Jam and Azelia Banks self released 1991 album that features 212 from way back in 2011 Myst Milano is the techno lovechild of a bygone era we’ve been waiting for. Calling the activist, DJ, producer, composer, a quadruple-threat might even be an understatement. They have no genre, they aren’t defined by gender, they have no rules man (or something)… In either case, she keeps it A Buck…How Edmonton Alberta created this shapeshifter is a mystery to me. Though to be fair I only know the town only as that place where they found oil once in the 40s and won’t stop talking about it, and that little tidbit about a bigass mall with a rollercoaster or something… Rumour has it her time spent DJing in Toronto’s ballroom community started them on their journey… I’d say they were just born this way…

Catch them Friday, November 22nd at Club Soda.

Well… If you like Clodelle but feel she isn’t Marie May enough for you, boy do I have the composite character for you! Just kidding, Virginie B’s music is actually pretty fun and even though she reminds me of the singer of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs mixed with a young Anne Marie Losique her disarming bubble pop aesthetic shouldn’t lull you into thinking she isn’t of substance. There’s a cleverness at play here and “play” is the operative word. She’s a hyper-pop, multi-instrumentalist and producer. She’s a force to be reckoned with, with skills to be recognized. Put respect on the Goddam name because Virginie B is an “A+” in my books. Catch her Saturday. November 23rd at Quai des Brumes.

Vox Rea is cool man, they look like absolutely smashing 10’s that happen to also be art teachers in high school, and they have masters in anthropology or something. Their musical style is kind of like less pop or night clubby Flume. Like their music you should almost sit for and watch.  Catch them over at Quai des Brumes this Saturday, November 23rd.

These guys are awesome live, they’re like Cake. Remember Cake? They’re like Cake meets Think About Life or something. A little early Modest Mouse, with shadows of Cold War Kids, or Foster the People vocals… Ya know, quirky white boys. If you want a great bassline and some surf guitars with the occasional high pitched “woo-hoo” or a high guttural saunter, these are the guys for you. It’s just north of edgy, but a bullseye to fun. They are going to Rock La Casa Del Popolo Saturday November 23rd. My prediction, asses on the dance floor, hands in the air, smiles in the faces, glints in the eyes.

If you don’t know Karkwa then you should go to this Fking show. They’ve been part of the Montreal/Canadian/Québec music scene for over 20 years. They’re great guys and really represent an undying and solid aspect of the local vibe. They were around in the late 90’s, they won a Polaris in 2010. It’s Indy, it’s folk, it’s rock, it’s local guys with a lot of heart and something to say. I think they’re a little slow sometimes and I like it when they lean heavier and uptempo but they almost never do and that’s neither here nor there… They’re like French Patrick Watson but played with a full rock band or something, but the point is, they’re local legends that deserve to be experienced. They’re playing November 23rd at Metropolis, go give them a shot.

Look. Do you just want to have a good time? Do you want to dance and laugh and hop about and scream a little? Do you want higher energy and skilled musicians, seasoned and peppered that won’t hesitate to pull all the stops to  make you cheer? Then just go see the Fkn Breastfeeders. They’re like Québec’s answer to the Hives or something? They gained prominence in around 2003 and they’ve been rocking our hearts and minds ever since. It’s a Fucking Rock show bro. Remember those? No? Well go check one out for fucks sake… Stop moping around and hit the floor. Saturday November 23rd, Theatre Fairmount. If you want to rock out with your socks out and face plant into whiskey and beers and toss your jacket into the ceiling fans for just one night, if you want to just let go and forgetaboutit, what the Fuck are you waiting for, go check em’ out.

Recap of our festival experience here.