Tag: travel

BLEUFEU is a Québec City-based event organizer and show promoter that presents festive and inspiring events, including the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ), Toboggan — New Year’s Eve Celebrations and St-Roch XP, as well as hundreds of shows throughout the year at Impérial Bell and a new venue, which will be opening soon.

The BLEUFEU team recently announced the lineup for this year’s Toboggan — New Year’s Eve Celebrations, presented by SiriusXM. Held in the Grande Allée District, in the heart of the gorgeous and historic provincial capital, this year’s edition will take place between December 28, 2023 – December 31, 2023.

2023’s Toboggan gains a new election with the addition of a new stage at Place George V, the SiriusXM Cube, which will host festive electronic music nights between December 28, 2023 – December 30, 2023. The SiriusXM Cube is a must-faced stage that will allow attendees to see that stage’s performances from three sides, starting each day at 5:00pm.

December 28, 2023 will see Canadian duo Loud Luxury headlining, returning after headlining back in 2019. Montréal-based sensation GLOWZI and Québec-based DJ Derrick will complete the SiriusXM Cube’s first night.

December 29, 2023 will see French multi-platinum selling artist DJ Klingande, who has been a mainstay at the world’s major EDM festivals headlining. Montréal-born, Franco-Congolese, Afro House artist DJ Karaba and rising artist Millimetrik will complete the SiriusXM Cube’s second night.

December 30, 2023 will see Montréal-based electronic music pioneer High Klassified capping off the SiriusXM Cube’s final night.

The traditional New Year’s Eve show, which will take place at Place de l’Assemblée-Nationale between 8:00pm-12:30am will be headlined by Italian Grammy-nominated production outfit Meduza will bring in 2024 with a euphoric EDM set. Québecois artist La Diable à Cinq, Les Louanges and Mike Demero will complete the night’s wild party.

On-site, visitors can also enjoy the Winter Village, which will feature heated areas under tents and relaxation spaces to enhance the experience, starting at 1:00PM each day. (Believe me, from what I understand, those heated areas will be prime real estate for an outdoor festival in Québec in late December!)
And this is all 100% free for visitors to enjoy, making Toboggan a great destination to celebrate the last days of 2023.

“New Year’s celebrations hold a special place in the hearts of the people of Quebec. We are very pleased to offer these four festive evenings free of charge to the entire population in the heart of our beautiful city,” BLEUFEU’s CEO Nicolas Racine says.  “With each new edition, we aim to establish Toboggan as a must-attend event and showcase the potential of Quebec as the ultimate Nordic destination,” he adds.

“We are excited about the new stage at Place George V. It was high time to equip the event with a stage setup and production worthy of the EDM festival it has become. Performances by artists such as Loud Luxury or Klingande will take on a whole new dimension,” explains Louis Bellavance, VP Content and Artistic Direction at BLEUFEU.

Lastly, as a festival, Toboggan is environmentally conscious and seeks to reduce its ecological footprint. Among their many actions taken, the festival will soon be carbon-neutral, with the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the event being offset through Planetair. They also produce sustainable mobility through its communication campaigns, Additionally, the festival will warm attendees in an environmentally conscious fashion, by using eco-friendly logs in its outdoor fireplaces.

The festival also has come up with a Good Festivalgoer Guide, which is available on their homepage, and offers festival goers a series of green actions that they can do to minimize the ecological impact of their visit.


M for Montreal — M pour Montreal in French — is an annual conference and music festival which takes place over the course of four days in late November in Canada’s second largest city. Since the inaugural conference back in 2005, M for Montreal has expanded to feature a selection of over 100 emerging, buzz-worthy and/or breakout acts from across Québec, the rest of Canada and a handful of internationally-based acts playing on stages in some of Montréal’s top venues and clubs. 

The annual conference also welcomes over 300 music industry professionals to Montréal for professional programming and networking tailored specifically for folks in the industry. 

Last month, M for Montréal’s organizers announced the full lineup of artists in its 2023 Official Selection series. Following a nationwide call for submissions that drew a record number of over 600 applications, the conference’s organizers have selected 28 artists and bands as outstanding examples of emerging talents across all spectra of genre, sound and background. 

With a little over a month left until this year’s 18th — 18th! — edition, festival organizers announced the lineup for my favorite portion of the festival, M for Marathon. Organized by M for Montréal and presented by Sirius XM, M for Marathon runs across the festival’s four-day run and features 34 shows with 91 artists playing in 16 venues across the city.

This year’s M for Marathon will showcase a globe-spanning lineup with an eclectic array of emerging artists. The Francophone portion of the lineup will feature Quebec favorites Geneviève et Matthieu, pop artists Simon Kearney and Félix Dyotte and up-and-comers Les Lunatiques, Sorry Girls, Grand Eugène, Prince Amine, Ivytide, Vendou and a list of others.

The Anglophone portion of the lineup will feature Cartel Madres, who will be playing a showcase at one of my favorite rooms to catch a show in town, La Sala Rossa with Milk & Bone, dee holt and Virginie B. (I caught Virginie B at last year’s M for Montréal and she’s a superstar in the making.)

Much like previous editions of M for Marathon, this year’s Marathon will feature a number of international artists, some of whom will be making their first appearances in Québec. French artists include Al-Qasar, Blue Orchid and Suzanne Belaubre. Welsh artists include Bethan Lloyd and Mace The Great. The UK’s Otto Aday, Egypt’s Nadah El Shazly, C’ôte d’Ivoire’s Andy S., and Atlanta‘s CDSM are also on the bill.

M for Marathon will also feature the launch of two debut efforts, underscoring the festival’s mission to support emerging projects: CanaillesAlice will be releasing her solo debut EP, Du love à revendre with a November 18, 2023 showcase at the intimate, medieval castle-like Quai des Brumes alongside Billiane. That same night, Tango Golf Tango will launch Dark Tropical Express at Diving Bell Social Club with Otto Aday.

Festival organizers also created a curated playlist featuring the artists and bands on this year’s lineup. Check that out here:

There two badge tiers:

The M for Marathon Festival badge, which allows you to attend M for Marathon showcases: 30 shows over the course of four days. For more information and to purchase, go here.

The Pro Badge, which allows you to attend all the Official Selection showcases, opening and closing cocktails, all workshops and conferences, the curated networking activity M for Mixer, the purchase of complimentary networking options, access to a digital networking platform and all the M for Marathon showcases. For more information, and to purchase, go here

Full listing of bands and artists at M for Montréal’s 18th edition is below:

36?
Afternoon Bike Ride
Al-Qasar
Alex Nicol
Alice
Alix Fernz
Andy S
Atsuko Chiba
Banx & Ranx
Bethan Lloyd
Billianne
Blue Orchid
Boy Golden
Carlyn
Cartel Madras
CDSM
Charlie Houston
Choses Sauvages
Das Mörtal
dee holt
digital polyglot
DJ Clémence Giroux
DJ LaTerreur
DJ Pøptrt
DJ Silktits
DJ Trinidaddy
DVTR
Family Man
Félix Dyotte
Flower Face
Frais Dispo
 

Frieda Mari
Gawbé
Geneviève et Matthieu
Georgia Harmer
Grand Eugène
Grand Public
Hawa B
Heaven for Real
Hippie Hourrah
Ivytide
Katie Tupper
La Faune
La Niña Kiwi
La Sécurité
LaF
Les Lunatiques
Loviet
Mace the Great
Marie Davidson
Mattmac
Mélissa Fortin
Milk & Bone
Mirabelle
Nadah El Shazly
Niall Mutter
Night Lunch
Nodly
Nyssa
Ormiston
Otto Aday
Ouri

Patche
Peter Dreams
Philippe Brach
poolblood
Population II
Prince Amine
Ragers
Rip Pop Mutant
Robert Robert
Sasha Cay
Simon Daniel
Simon Kearney
Sorry Girls
Stoylov
Super Plage
Suzanne Belaubre
Sylvie
T Thomason
Tallandskiinny
Tango Golf Tango
Thanks, Honestly
Titelaine
Totalement Sublime
Vendou
VioleTT Pi
Virginie B
Willa Owen
Winona Forever
Yocto
Zouz