In May, there was the 10th annual MUTEK. Five days of premier electronic music thumping in the clubs and parks of Montreal. One DJ was better than the next, and by the end of the festival it almost didn’t matter who was behind the decks, the energy of the crowd simply carried the day.

And the night.

In June, there came the 30th annual Montreal Jazz Festival. Two full weeks of performances, right smack in the center of the city, on streets that had been closed to car traffic and turned into one of the largest urban outdoor music stages in North America. Stevie Wonder made international news with a tribute to Michael Jackson. In addition to classic jazz concerts, bands like Nomadic Massive from Quebec and High Tone from Lyon challenged any limited notions of what jazz music is. Their rollicking performances brought thousands of people to the dance floor.

This month, there begins the 20th annual Les Francofolies de Montréal. Although it was born in French Canada, this festival has grown into one of the largest French music festivals in the world, with attendance exceeding 800,000 people from 12 countries around the world. Again the city center is closed to traffic, and for days the music of 200 bands rise through the streets. For the American audience, Les Francofolies de Montréal proves that you don’t have to speak French in order to rock out to French tunes.

–Justin Rocket Silverman