Montréal cultural calendar

POP MUSIC

Some highlights of upcoming national and international tours:

September

American singer-songwriter Jessie Murph (September 1) and Belgian-Morrocan singer-songwriter DYSTINCT (September 2) at MTELUS; English singer-songwriter Blanco White (September 3) and Australian indie-folk duo Amistat (September 4) at Théâtre Beanfield; electronic music duo Two Lanes at the Fairmount Theatre (September 5); two-nighter with Toronto indie-pop singer MICO at Le Studio TD (September 5 and 6); Canadian hardcore punk band Comeback Kid at Club Soda (September 7); American alternative metal band Deftones at Bell Centre (September 8); and a Lovers Rock reggae show with Wayne Wonder, Etana and Gyptian at the Olympia Theatre (September 8).

Moody English rock-pop icon Morrissey at Place Bell (September 10); The Waterboys at Théâtre Beanfield (September 10); English Celtic punk band The Pogues at MTELUS (September 12); Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane at Le Studio TD (September 14); British hard rockers The Darkness at Club Soda (September 14); French metalcore band LANDMVRKS (September 14),  American post-hardcore band Our Last Night (September 16), and legendary Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson’s Mandrake Project Live 2025 solo tour (September 18) at MTELUS.

Keith Urban (September 19) and Korn (September 20) at Bell Centre; Southern rock icons Lynyrd Skynyrd at Place Bell (September 20); two-nighter with English musician Steven Wilson at MTELUS (September 25 and 26); The Australian Pink Floyd Show at Place Bell (September 26); New Orleans hip hop duo $uicideboy$ (September 26) and Grammy-winning New Zealand pop star Lorde (September 27) at Bell Centre; and the iconic Sex Pistols (Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock) featuring Frank Carter at MTELUS (September 30).

Concerts of note: Québec rock icon Michel Pagliaro headlines the Rialto Theatre on September 24 at the POP Montreal International Music Festival.

And legendary drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer returns to Montréal on September 14 at Théâtre Saint-Denis to headline Welcome Back My Friends: An Evening with Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The special show was created by Palmer, the last remaining member of the British group’s classic 1970s lineup (Keith Emerson and Greg Lake both passed away in 2016). Palmer will be joined by the other two members of his current band, ELP Legacy: Paul Bielatowicz and Simon Fitzpatrick. 

Looking ahead: Canadian pop superstar Shawn Mendes headlines the Bell Centre on October 1. Montréalers adore Mendes: at his last Montréal concert, a visibly blown-away Mendes said onstage, “This is by far the loudest crowd in my life!”

World music legend Lorraine Klaasen headlines the Afro Museum on October 4.

Local soul, jazz and hip hop

For those looking for dinner and a show under one roof, the city’s top soul and RnB musicians headline Le Balcon music hall and restaurant year-round. Regular headliners include Montréal music legends Freddie James, Kim Richardson, Dawn Tyler Watson, and Michelle Sweeney who headlines her Soul Motown Disco Night on August 16. For those looking for dinner and a show under one roof, the city’s top soul and RnB musicians headline Le Balcon music hall and restaurant year-round. Regular headliners include Montréal music legends Freddie James, Kim Richardson, Dawn Tyler Watson, and Michelle Sweeney.

Montréal’s premiere musicians and entertainers also headline live-music nightclubs Diese Onze and Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill, both ranked by DownBeat magazine as two of the top jazz nightclubs on the planet. Montréal’s top jazz, soul and blues divas headline both venues which also have dinner menus.

Le Cypher X organizes the city’s premiere hip hop concerts every Thursday at O Patro Vys while GrowveMTL presents jams featuring the city’s top musicians playing everything from disco to hip hop each Wednesday at Turbo Haüs.

Hillbilly Night each Monday at the legendary Wheel Club in NDG is the longest-running open mic night in Montréal. 

CITY OF FESTIVALS

Montréal hosts dozens of festivals each spring and summer. Some star-studded highlights:

The POP Montreal International Music Festival runs from September 24 to 28. Headliners include Québec rock icon Michel Pagliaro who headlines the Rialto Theatre on September 24.

Piknic Électronik presents DJs and electronic music each Sunday at Parc Jean-Drapeau until October 12. Superstar DJs spinning include Misstress Barbara (August 31) and Carl Cox (October 3). RuPaul will spin at an OFF-Piknic event on September 13. Click here for a Piknic Électronik primer. 

Click here for your full summer Montréal festival guide.

THEATRE

Evenko and Broadway Across Canada present HAMILTON, the epic saga that follows the rise of U.S. Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Presented at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier to September 7.

Click here for more English theatre in Montréal.

Over at La TOHU, the Off-Broadway smash Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors makes its French-language world premiere as Dracula, une comédie des horreurs from September 11 to October 31.

DANCE

The 2025-2026 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens season begins with Bella Figura at Théatre Maisonneuve from September 11 to 20.

CLASSICAL STAGE

The 15th season of Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts begins in September and features some 90 concerts, with half of its programming showcasing Québec and Canadian artists. Click here for the full program.

MUSEUMS

The immersive and interactive exhibition Knights at the Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex in Old Montréal explores the lives of knights during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, from the battlefield to the royal court. Some 250 pieces on display – an impressive selection of European weaponry and armour from the prestigious collection of the Museo Stibbert in Italy – illustrate the historical and cultural richness of the world of knights. Runs to October 19.

The bilingual Titanic: An Immersive Voyage exhibition blends archives, immersive devices and virtual reality. In addition to some 300 artefacts on display, a brand new virtual-reality experience allows visitors to move about freely and explore the ship as it was on the day of its departure, as well as in its resting place today.

Titanic: An Immersive Voyage incorporates little explored elements like sister ships Olympic and Britannic, the rescue boat Carpathia, the ship Californian (which remained silent nearby), and the iceberg itself, from its formation to its dissolution a few days after the shipwreck. 

The exhibition runs to November 28 at Place Bonaventure. Also, click here for your Titanic walking tour of Montréal whose history is interwoven with the story of the Titanic.

Canada’s largest indoor immersive attraction, OASIS immersion at the Palais des congrès de Montréal presents the 90-minute exhibition Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience narrated by musician and actor Kevin Bacon. The immersive show features more than 1,000 iconic photographs and floor-to-ceiling live video performances of some of music’s most legendary acts like The Who, The Beatles, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Chappell Roan, Janis Joplin, Bob Marley, Green Day, Sinead O’Connor, David Bowie, Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg, Radiohead, The Doors, Aretha Franklin, KISS, Joan Jett, The Ramones, Lizzo and more. Runs to November 30.

Click here for more Montréal museum exhibitions.

FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT

Children of all ages can discover new worlds at Montréal Espace pour la vie, the largest natural-sciences museum complex in Canada which comprises the Jardin botanique, Planetarium, Biosphere, famed Biodôme and Insectarium. Purchasing fixed-time tickets online is highly recommended. 

The Montréal Science Centre in the Old Port of Montréal presents the interactive blockbuster exhibition T. Rex: The Ultimate Predator which features life-sized reconstructions so visitors can get an astonishing look at how this killer dinosaur hatched from an egg and grew into a colossal monster. Runs to September 7.

The Montréal Science Centre’s  IMAX cinema screens films for all ages, including T-Rex 3D: Greatest of all Tyrants.

CIRCUS ARTS

Le Monastère presents Le Jardin, a relaxing outdoor oasis in the heart of the city, with free evening shows. Runs to September 30.

The critically-hailed Cirque Éloize show Bon Voyage runs to September 13 at its creative studios located inside the former Dalhousie Station in the heart of Old Montréal. Click here for tickets.

CINÉMA

Created by an international team of Oscar and Emmy-winning artists, the immersive cinema of the critically-acclaimed Resolution reimagines the album experience through a stunning visual odyssey designed to spark hope and offer comfort, emotional support and a sense of peace. Runs to September 26 at the Society for Arts and Technology (called “The SAT” by locals).

The Montreal Cinéclub Film Society screens classic movies at various venues every second week. Click here for the full program.

The IMAX cinema at the Montréal Science Centre screens films for all ages, including T-Rex 3D: Greatest of all Tyrants.

LITERATURE

Lectures LOGOS Readings is a series of monthly multicultural readings hosted by award-winning author H. Nigel Thomas and renowned human rights advocate Maguy Métellus at the UNIA Hall in Little Burgundy.

DRAG SHOWS

Piknic Électronik presents RuPaul who will DJ at an OFF-Piknic event on September 13.

Drag superstars Violet Chachki and Gottmik reunite for their début tour KNOCKOUT inspired by the most famous boxing matches in history, at the Olympia Theatre on September 24.

The hilarious all-drag-cast touring production The Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue returns to Théâtre St-Denis with an all-new show: 2025 finds Sophia out on bail after being busted by the DEA for running a drug ring at Shady Pines. Blanche and Rose have founded CreakN, a thriving sex app for seniors. And Dorothy is trying to hold it all together, with help from her much younger, sex-crazed love interest. For ages 18+. Two shows only, September 20 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Looking ahead, Mona de Grenoble – who walked away with the Olivier de l’année, the most coveted prize at the 2025 Olivier Gala – presents her show De la poudre aux yeux at the Studio-Cabaret at Espace St-Denis on October 18.

Montréal is one of the drag capitals of the world. Located in The Village, drag icon Mado Lamotte’s Cabaret Mado and Michel Dorion’s classic Bar Le Cocktail both book the best drag performers in the city nightly. Both venues are also two of the most popular nightclubs in The Village.

COMEDY

Montréal’s local comedy scene is enjoying a renaissance with flourishing comedy nights in clubs throughout the city, and touring national and international comedians selling out large venues.

American sitcom writer Phil Rosenthal at the Olympia Theatre on September 5.

American comic Michael Blaustein brings his The Taste Me Tour to the Olympia Theatre on September 6.

Indian comedian Zakir Khan at the Olympia Theatre on September 7.

Scottish stand-up comedian Kevin Bridges at the Olympia Theatre on September 10.

French-language stand-up comedy show by Algerian-Belgian comic Nawell Madani at the Olympia Theatre from September 12 to 14.

British comedy sensation Sarah Millican brings her Late Bloomer Tour to Théatre Maisonneuve on September 22.

Rick Mercer’s STAND-UP FOR CANADA Comedy Tour at the Olympia Theatre on September 25.

Check out English-language stand-up comics at Comedyville located behind the Deli Planet in Central Train Station, with shows Thursday to Saturday. Click here for show descriptions.

Support local, national and international comics at Montréal’s legendary The Comedy Nest nightclub located in the historic Montréal Forum. Click here for full programming.