Big guns or damp squibs?
In the pop frenzy department, the fall season will certainly have less panache than the spring season, with new releases from Beyoncé, Billie Eilish (in concert on September 29 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City), Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and the sensation Charli XCX. What else does 2024 have to offer? The return of Nelly Furtado (7September 20) seven years after his last album. That of Katy Perry the same day, an album named 143, whose disastrous promotional campaign does not herald anything exciting. Coldplay also shows up (Moon MusicOctober 4); or, all these fine people could be kept in the shadow of the Toronto pop-R&B star The Weekndwhose sixth album is due to be released imminently. Entitled Hurry Up Tomorrow and presented as the last chapter of a trilogy (After Hours2020, Dawn FM2022), the album is boosted by the recording of a concert (described as “monumental” by the Guardian British) presented last weekend in São Paulo in front of 70,000 fans. Finally, note that the pop sensation of the hour Sabrina Carpenter will be at the Bell Centre on October 11, exactly one week after Justin Timberlake’s performance.
The wealth of niches
If the race to the top of the album sales and streaming charts is not your first criterion of appreciation, the discographic fall promises to be promising. The month of September will be electronic thanks to the expected releases of the new albums of Floating Points (Cascadealready released, very danceable and rhythmic), of Jamie XX (In WavesSeptember 20, featuring vocals from Robyn and friends of The XX), from the Scottish composer’s posthumous album Sophie (SophieSeptember 27) and new Caribou (HoneyOctober 4, also geared towards dance floors). Circle this date of the first Friday in October, also occupied by the arrival of a second album by The Smile in just nine months (Cutouts) and the new album from the cult Montreal group Godspeed You! Black Emperor (GY!BE). Other expected releases: Manu Chao comes out of its jungle to offer on September 20 Long live youTHE Patterns in Repeat of the prodigious folk musician Laura MarlingOctober 25, the date chosen by the Pixies to launch The Night the Zombies Came — his ex-bassist Kim Deal will offer a first solo album, Nobody Loves You MoreNovember 22.
Large crowds
If the rock event of the season is the (postponed) concert of the legend Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band at the Bell Centre on Halloween night, indie rock fans will also consider themselves spoiled at the start of the fall season. It kicks off with a double bill at Place Bell on September 19, bringing together The National And The War on Drugsand continues two days later, at the same place, with the concert of the immense PJ Harveyseven years after their last visit. Renowned for their fury on stage, the English punk group Idles is offering the MTelus twice, on September 21 and 22, with the new winner of the Mercury Prize, English Teacheras the opening act — and in the same punk/post-punk vein, the rock group of the moment, DC Fountains (his album Romance is freshly published) is also announced at MTelus, on October 12, the same evening as the visit of the Doobie Brothers at Place Bell. We are also counting on Air (October 13, Place Bell), Cyndi Lauper (October 18 at the Bell Centre), Iron Maiden (October 30 at the Bell Centre) and the brilliant country musician Kacey Musgrave (November 6 at Place Bell) to attract the masses. Neglected this season, hip-hop fans will still count on the visit of Don Toliver on November 13, one of the rare rappers to perform at the Bell Centre by the end of the year.
Small crowds
In small venues, the best concerts? We expect nothing less from a visit toAdrianne Lenkerleader of Big Thiefat the Olympia Theatre on November 15, but the answer will come sooner with the returns of the English neo-soul singer Michael Kiwanuka (September 26 at MTelus) and the admirable young singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya (October 4 at La Tulipe), who launched his third album yesterday, My Method Actor. Brazilian veterans Sepultura will celebrate 40 years of metal at the Olympia Theater on October 10, the noisy Xiu Xiu will visit the Fairmount Theatre on October 18, and two days later the British The The will visit us at MTelus. To get your fill of more intimate concerts, the Pop Montréal festival poster, which will take place from September 25 to 29, is a gold mine; it includes the names of Juana Molina, Claire Rousay, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, The Fleshtones, Zoon and a majority of local talents. While we wait to know the lineup for M for Montreal, note that the event will take place from November 20 to 23.