There's something about those rural Quebec music festivals that's just built different, y'know? Dwelling in that je ne sais quoi is Baie-Saint-Paul's Le Festif!, which returns from July 18 to 21 to celebrate its 15th anniversary.
Tickets go on sale today at noon ET. To mark the occasion, we here at Exclaim! are sharing our top five must-see act at the 2024 edition of Le Festif!
Corridor
For what is currently their sole performance in their home province of summer 2024, you could say that the Montreal quartet have spent years preparing. Mimi — their third album and first in five years — arrives at the end of the month and brings a more experimental, electronic sound while remaining grounded in their signature arty guitar tones and soaring jangle pop choruses.
Ibibio Sound Machine
The British electronic Afro-funk futurist ensemble fronted by Eno Williams have a studio sound that impressively manages to capture the ever-building alchemy of the ensemble's grooves. They're releasing their new album Pull the Rope on May 3, so their always-fresh sound will be even more up-to-the-minute for this summer's festival season.
Kaya Hoax
Show up early to the Kaya Hoax party, because it's sure to be bumpin' sooner rather than later. The Montreal hip-hop newbie oozes star quality with the booming braggadocio on her clink-clanking debut single "KTD."
La Force
The second solo album from Broken Social Scene's Ariel Engle, XO SKELETON, was a Great Canadian Album You Might Have Missed in 2023, and sorely should not have been. Its searing death-drive dirges have a latent urgency that sneaks up and taps you on the shoulder while suspended mid-air in a bewitching sonic thicket.
Le Roy, La Rose et Le Lou[p]
Something like the Quebec music scene's answer to boygenius, Le Roy, La Rose et Le Lou[p] combines the forces of Ariane Roy, Thierry Larose and Lou-Adriane Cassidy — each compelling performers in their own right. If their bouncy, piano-driven chanson thème together is any indication, breezy QuéPop ascendency awaits.
