This year’s Pop Montreal will be a hybrid festival, which means the 20th anniversary of the festival will be celebrated both in person and virtually . The festival is taking place September 22nd-26th and will feature performances by psych-rock band SUUNS, indie-rock band The Besnard Lakes, Canadian-American rapper Cadence Weapon, Backxwash, Cakes da Killa, Vanille, The Dears and more.

While the festival features a lot of musical acts, it will also offer some other cultural entertainment, like Art Pop, which will host the “annual group exhibition as well as several satellite events that will bring live performances, sound installations and poster campaigns into the public spaces surrounding POP’s headquarters at the Rialto Theatre complex.” Film Pop will showcase the best of this year’s music films during the film festival.

SUUNS announced their new album The Witness for September 3rd. The band already released their new song off the album, “Witness Protection.” The album will be the follow up to the band’s 2020 EP Fiction. The band’s last album Felt was released in 2018.

Cadence Weapon released his newest album Parallel World earlier this year on April 30th. Mxdwn’s Jahniya Morris calls the album “a reflection of the world we’re living in. It’s a political commentary on so many aspects of everyday life that had been exposed due to the pandemic. Cadence Weapon was able to bring in elements of his music that has worked in the past and blend it perfectly with controversial discussions.”

The Besnard Lakes also shared their newest album this year, The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings. Selected songs off the album were performed by the band during their live stream from La Sala Rossa in Montreal. The band played various songs from their two decade long career. Read the full live stream review with set-list here.