Folk Alliance International Brings Hundreds of Musicians to Montreal This Week

The long-running Folk Alliance International conference returns to Montreal this week.

Taking place in downtown Montreal from February 19-23, Folk Alliance returns to town for the first time in six years with a stacked edition featuring 175+ official showcase performers from around the globe alongside the annual awards ceremony, dozens of panels, film screenings, networking meetups, and more.

Billed as the largest gathering of folk musicians and music industry professionals in the world, Folk Alliance sets up shop in a new city each year and brings together jury-selected Official Showcase performers as well as hundreds of unofficial showcases featuring a wide variety of artists that loosely fall under the “folk” moniker.

Set entirely within one large hotel complex each year (this year’s edition takes place at the Sheraton in downtown Montreal, 1201 René-Lévesque Blvd W), attendees are surrounded by music at all times, from live performances in hotel ballrooms to late-night showcases in hotel rooms. The latter is one of the most intimate and exciting way to discover new artists, something that makes Folk Alliance stand out from any other music conference or festival in the world.

This year’s spotlight country is Portugal, with a half-dozen Official Showcase artists from the country playing Folk Alliance including Porto’s 8-piece collective Retimbrar, multi-media artist OMIRI, and more.

Below are a selection of Official Showcase selections to get you started. Conference passes and the complete schedule are available at the official Folk Conference website.

Ron Sexsmith

One of the most recognizable names on this year’s lineup, don’t miss the opportunity to see the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith in such an intimate environment.

Kaïa Kater

Montreal’s own Kaïa Kater is a force to be reckoned with. The Grenadian-Canadian banjo player and songwriter offers up a widescreen theatrical sound that manages to sound both intimate and sweeping at the same time.

Mama’s Broke

The Halifax, Nova Scotia folk duo have been earning rave reviews for their beautifully haunting take on traditional folk elements. Check out their NPR Tiny Desk appearance below.

SaulPaul

Straight out of Houston, Texas, SaulPaul refuses to be held down by conventions of genre. From hip hop anthems like “Texas Two Step” to the inspirational modern rock-sounding “I Am Enough,” SaulPaul seems poised to blow the roof off this year’s conference.

Bella’s Bartok

From Northampton, MA, Bella’s Bartok are a theatrical rock group that reside somewhere in the complex web between punk rock, dark Americana, and traditional European folk leanings. Their set should be one of the most talked about at this year’s Folk Alliance.

The 37th annual Folk Alliance International conference runs from February 19-23 in downtown Montreal. Purchase passes and check out the complete schedule of performances, panels, screenings, and more here.