The most important annual meeting of the folk and trad circuit in the world will take place in Montreal from February 19 to 23, 2025. Organized by the Folk Alliance International association, the 37e The next edition of its conference will bring together more than 3,000 delegates, mostly from abroad, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where workshops, discussions, professional meetings and shows will be organized, during which more than 175 artists will perform in front of members of the music industry.
The theme of this 37e edition will be Illuminatein reference to the Northern Lights, “a powerful symbol of the interconnectedness between humans, the natural world and the spiritual world in Indigenous cultures across northern Canada,” which will be highlighted. This annual conference was previously held in Montreal in 2005 and 2019. Cancelled in 2021 due to the pandemic, the event has been held for the past three years in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Alliance is headquartered.
Folk Alliance International aims to “prosper folk music through preservation, dissemination and promotion.” On the opening night of the conference, the organization holds its International Folk Music Awards gala, which in 2022 honored Quebec native Allison Russell with the awards for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year (for Outside Child2021).
A regular at this major trad-folk industry event, the group Le Vent du Nord has confirmed its presence, as has Montreal singer-songwriter Basia Bulat. Also there will be veteran Canadian indie folk troubadour Ron Sexsmith, Jorane, Abenaki folk musician Mimi O’Bonsawin, American folk orchestra Bella’s Bartok and fado guitarist Marta Pereira da Costa. As the Alliance’s definition of folk music, it brings together musical cultures from all the world’s traditions.
The delegation of Quebec artists invited to perform during the conference also includes La Bottine souriree, Wesli, the folk-jazz duo Little Misty, Les Rats d’Swompe, the trio merging Quebec and Irish musical traditions Grosse Isle, Geneviève Racette as well as Christine Tassan and the Imposteures.