Rave the day away: Montréal’s daytime electronic music scene
Montréal’s electronic music scene has long been a hub of innovation and cutting-edge sounds. And while the city’s vibrant nightlife vibrates to DJs and underground raves keep revellers dancing into the night throughout the week, sometimes the vibe calls for a daytime dance and an early evening return home. No longer confined to the late night hours, the beat of Montréal never stops at these daytime electronic cafés and early evening parties—all offering non-alcoholic options to ensure that hangover-free afterglow the morning after.
Café beats
Inspired by Japanese listening bars, Café GotSoul pairs stellar sound with skillfully made coffees and pastries on an alcohol-free menu. Visitors can sit back and listen to the vinyl selections spinning in the main room, or ask to visit the 15,000-title library downstairs. Co-founded by DJ Jojo Flores and his brother, GotSoul is a must-visit for any music lover.
Osmo x Marusan in the historic Notman House is one of Montréal’s creative community’s favourite co-working spaces, buzzing all day long with expertly-selected soundtrack and early DJ sets to bring the workday to a rhythmic finish. There’s also a curated selection of records for purchase on-hand, and their online Radio sets let you relive Osmo x Marusan at home.
Housed in the Society for Arts and Technology, the Café SAT’s mantra is simply “baristas by day, DJs by night.” Every Thursday night at quitting time, the room transforms into Café SAT X Shift Radio, featuring live sets by up-and-coming DJs also live-streamed via Instagram. It’s the perfect late-week groove session, and it all wraps up by 9 p.m.
The intimate Café FAME on the corner of Fairmont Avenue and Clark Street in the Mile End neighbourhood regularly features DJ sets soundtracking a mid-day coffee break or study session. Sets can also be re-streamed on their Instagram page, and there’s pop-up events including vintage markets and culinary specials on the calendar too.
Café September in the Saint-Henri quartier brings together brunch and beats before transforming into Stem Bar after dark. Check their pages for music-focused events.
Finally, the Croissound collective brings local DJs to Montréal cafés and dining halls for morning parties kicking off at 11 a.m., including appearances at LE CENTRAL and Café Bravo. Subscribe to their mailing list for the latest info on the when and where of their next events.
Daylight dancing
Throughout the season, Aire commune brings music-centric events to outdoor spaces coupled with their city-wide network of outdoor co-working spaces. From relaxing 5-7 DJ sets to bigger after-work parties at Esplanade Louvain (wrapping up by 10 p.m.), Aire commune’s calendar guarantees to make the workweek pass by quicker. And in the winter, their Festival Sous Zero warms up Place Jacques-Cartier.
From June to September, the Village au Pied-du-Courant brings a sandy beach to Montréal’s riverfront, with exceptional views accompanied by non-stop DJ talent from the afternoon into the night. The drink menus include invigorating non-alcoholic options, and there’s food options on hand to keep energy levels up.
Montréal’s LGBTQ+ community also gathers en masse for the Fierté Montréal Festival annually in August, including outdoor daytime dance parties including the closing T-Dance. Outside of those months, the programmers of Hot Flash lesbian dance parties and Dad Bod for gay men and friends keep their parties running from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at regularly scheduled events throughout the year, while MESSY events also offer afternoon and evening possibilities.
Festival fun
Some of Montréal’s biggest electronic music festivals also feature daylight events as part of their programming. One of the summer’s biggest weekend events, Piknic Électronik brings the dance floor into the daytime every Sunday afternoon with a packed schedule of superstar DJs and upstarts. And during January, Igloofest Montréal keeps the party going outdoors with world-class lineups and unforgettable costumes to keep the cold at bay.
Montréal’s long-running MUTEK festival focusing on electronic music and digital creativity has also brought the latest and greatest to the city for more than 25 years, and their extensive calendar of events every August includes ample opportunity to dance the early evening away and be snug in bed at an appropriate school night hour.
Mark Hamilton
Mark Hamilton is the community director for QueerMTL, an internationally-touring musician with his projects Woodpigeon and Frontperson and a graduate studies student of history researching LGBTQ+ activism in the city. He’s lived in Montréal since 2015, during which time he’s most often spotted atop a BIXI bike usally running a few minutes late.