Montréal cultural calendar
Leisure activities Culture, arts and heritage The city
Blockbuster museum exhibitions, live music concerts, theatre and comedy are among the many live entertainment choices in Montréal this Autumn 2025.
POP MUSIC
Some highlights of upcoming national and international tours:
December
What a week at MTELUS! Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez (December 2), The Tea Party (December 3) Damiano David (December 4), PUP (December 5), Ben Bankas (December 6), Mac DeMarco (December 7) and Shawn Desman (December 9) all headline MTELUS.
Hip hop icon Lauryn Hill brings her Artist In Residence Tour to Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (December 3); Papa Roach at Place Bell (December 8), mgk at Bell Centre (December 10); the Jonas Brothers at Bell Centre (December 17); Canadian rock legends Moist perform two nights at Théâtre Beanfield (December 11 and 12); Grandson at MTELUS (December 13); and Nigerian Afro-fusion superstar Burna Boy at Bell Centre (December 15).
Concerts of note: Stomp Records celebrates its 30th anniversary with four concerts at Foufounes Électriques, Turbo Haus and Club Soda (December 10 to 13), featuring The Planet Smashers, Flatliners, Pkewx3, Anti-Queens, and more bands. Click here for info on venues, lineups and to purchase tickets.
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.
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.
Soul legend Michelle Sweeney and her band headline Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill on December 13 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
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 many star-studded festivals each autumn:
The 19th edition of the prestigious Bach Festival presents international headliners at classical music concerts in various venues to December 7.
THEATRE
The venerable Centaur Theatre Company in Old Montréal presents the English-language premiere of Kisses Deep by Québecois literary icon Michel Marc Bouchard, and translated by Linda Gaboriau. This long-awaited premiere tells the story of the transformational relationship between a troubled, gifted young man and his complex and inspiring mother. Directed by Eda Holmes, the cast includes Lyndz Dantiste, Yves Jacques, Leni Parker, Alice Pascual and Kevin Raymond. Runs November 26 to December 14.
The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts in the west end presents the Canadian premiere of the Tony-winning Kimberly Akimbo led by theatre legend Louise Pitre – who originated the role of Fantine in the Canadian premiere of Les Misérables, Donna in the North American and Broadway premieres of Mamma Mia!, and Edith Piaf in The Angel and the Sparrow at the Segal – in this moving and funny musical about a teenager with a rare condition as she navigates family dysfunction, first love, and potential felony charges! Runs to December 21.
Click here for more English theatre in Montréal.
To mark their 10th anniversary, Coro Cênico Brasileiro (Choeur Scénique Brésilien) presents Força Estranha (“A Strange Force”), a multidisciplinary production that blends choral music, dance and theatre to tell the story of immigration through a uniquely Brazilian lens. The spoken text is in French, while the songs are in Portuguese. Runs at Salle Sylvain-Lelièvre at Collège de Maisonneuve from November 29 to 30.
Click here for French-language theatre in Montréal.
DANCE
The timeless Les Grands Ballets Canadiensadaptation of Casse-Noisette (a.k.a. The Nutcracker) by Quebec choreographer Fernand Nault returns to Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier for its 61st year. This two-act ballet based on Hoffmann’s classic tale is set to the music of Tchaikovsky and brings together more than 60 dancers and 100 extras, plus Les Grands Ballets Orchestra under the direction of conductor Dina Gilbert. If you have never seen it, this famed production is a must. The Nutcracker runs from December 12 to 30.
CLASSICAL STAGE
Some Orchestre symphonique de Montréal highlights this autumn:
Maestro Rafael Payare conducts the OSM with brilliant guest Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma in Echoes of Europe in Hollywood (December 3).
The OSM performs one of Handel’s greatest masterpieces under the baton of Rafael Payare, The Messiah: Hallelujah! with soprano Lucy Crowe, alto Luciana Mancini, tenor Levy Segkapane, bass Roderick William, and the OSM Chorus with choirmaster Andrew Megill (December 10 and 11).
All OSM concerts presented at the Maison Symphonique at Place des Arts in the Quartier des Spectacles.
Under the baton of Naomi Woo, the Orchestre Métropolitain presents guest conductor Léa Moisan-Perrier with pianists Julie Lamontagne and Rousso in Neiges: The OM Celebrates André Gagnon (December 13 and 14).
All OM concerts presented at the Maison Symphoniqueat Place des Arts in the Quartier des Spectacles.
The OM with Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the helm then present Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal on December 17.
Founded in 1939, Canada’s renowned Orchestre Classique de Montréal presents their cherished annual holiday season concert Händel’s Messiah, performed in the crypt at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal on December 11.
Back for its 19th edition, the prestigious Bach Festival has established itself as North America’s leading festival celebrating the musical genius of Johann Sebastian Bach, and presents international headliners at classical music concerts in various venues to December 7. Renowned Swiss composer and conductor Rudolf Lutz will offer his interpretation of the St. John Passion for a majestic finale with orchestra and choir at the Maison Symphonique on December 7.
The 15th season of Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts features more than 100 concerts, with half of its programming showcasing Québec and Canadian artists.
Highlights include The Taurey Butler Trio performing their beloved annual A Charlie Brown Christmas concerts, with guest vocalist soul diva Kim Richardson, for five concerts from December 16 to 18.
Click here for the full Bourgie Hall program.
Looking ahead, the orchestral Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert returns to Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier for a January 1 matinee at 2:30 p.m.
MUSEUMS
The blockbuster Kent Monkman: History Is Painted by the Victors exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts features 40 iconic and monumental paintings by the famed Canadian artist and member of ocêkwi sîpiy (Fisher River Cree Nation) who challenges colonial narratives and offers new perspectives on the past and our present. Highlights include two 7-metre paintings that Monkman was commissioned to paint for the Great Hall of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which depict the historical and contemporary relationships between the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (North America) and newcomers to their lands. Runs to March 8, 2026.
A Canadian exclusive organized by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the McCord Stewart Museum in the Golden Square Mile presents the Africa Fashion blockbuster exhibition that showcases men’s, women’s and gender-fluid fashion and accessories, jewelry, textiles, photographs, music and art from across the African continent, from the 1960s onwards. Runs to February 1, 2026.
Click here for more Montréal museum exhibitions.
The bilingual Titanic: An Immersive Voyage exhibition at Place Bonaventure blends archives, immersive devices and virtual reality. In addition to some 300 artefacts from the iconic ocean liner and its sister ships Olympic and Britannic, 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. Runs to January 11, 2026.
Also, click here for your Titanic walking tour of Montréal whose history is interwoven with the story of the Titanic.
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT
DISNEY ON ICE: Road Trip Adventures headlines Place Bell for multiple performances from December 18 to 21.
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’s IMAX cinema screens films for all ages.
CIRCUS ARTS
Specializing in contemporary circus, La TOHU presents Théâtre à Tempo’s ACTION! which transports audiences to the set of a 1960s television station, combining circus arts and performance in a multidisciplinary show that mixes music, dance, mime and acrobatic feats — including world-record tightrope walker Guillaume Fontaine. Runs December 11 to 30. For ages 4+.
CINÉMA
The BBAM! Gallery presents to the Canadian film premiere of director Lee Cogswell’s acclaimed documentary film Long Hot Summers: The Story of the Style Council on December 18.
The PARC AT MIDNIGHT cycle at the Cinéma du Parc offers nocturnal screenings in the great tradition of the famous rep-house “midnight movies” of the 70s.
Presented annually since 1954, the Cannes Lions are the most prestigious international awards in the field of creative communications in the advertising and communications industry. This year’s most creative international advertisements screen at Cinéma du Parc beginning on December 12.
Cinéma du Musée screens the STAR WARS saga, episodes I through VI, on December 27 and 28 and January 3 and 4. Three films will be screened each day, giving viewers the option to experience the saga in chronological order or in order of release. All films will be shown in their original version with French subtitles.
The Montreal Cinéclub Film Society screens classic movies at various venues every second week. Click here for the full program.
L’AMOUR À MINUIT is a non-profit Cinéma L’Amour screening series of cult classics that raises funds to restore and maintain the iconic century-old theatre that was built in 1914. Click here for the full program.
Queer Cinema Club Montréal presents monthly screenings at the Cinéma du Parc.
The IMAX cinema at the Montréal Science Centre in the Old Port screens films for all ages.
LITERATURE
Founded in 2015 by the Association of English-Language Publishers of Québec and the Atwater Writers Exhibition, the 10th edition of the Read Quebec Book Fair returns to Casa d’Italia on December 6 and 7. This annual celebration of Québec’s English-language literature presents a full program of panels, performances and author signings.
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
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.
Comedian Justin Willman brings his One for the Ages Tour to the Olympia on December 4.
Comedian and global YouTube sensation Kurtis Conner brings his Goodfellow World Tour to the Olympia on December 12.
American comedy superstar Matt Rife headlines Bell Centre (December 29).
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.
Richard Burnett
Richard “Bugs” Burnett is a Canadian freelance writer, editor, journalist, blogger and columnist for alt-weeklies, mainstream and LGBTQ+ publications. Bugs also knows Montréal like a drag queen knows a cosmetics counter.