Rumour Mill: Is Arcade Fire playing POP Montreal this week?

UPDATE: We’ll have to keep sleuthing, apparently Arcade Fire is NOT playing this weekend. Any guesses as to which Montreal band is playing the outdoor Mile End skate park this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!

The 18th annual POP Montreal festival kicks off this week, with a stacked lineup of performers including Laurie Anderson, Mavis Staples, Nick Cave, Weyes Blood, KOKOKO!, Tirzah, and many more. The full lineup is available now via the POP Montreal site (along with a very handy app), but it looks like one more announcement is coming, which may just mark the return of Arcade Fire to the festival.

According to a piece in The Gazette, a “well-known Montreal band” is slated to play a surprise show at the outdoor Skatepark du Mile-End at the corner of St-Laurent Blvd. and Van Horne Ave (The Sainte Catherines are playing a 20th anniversary show there on Saturday, September 28).

While there are certainly no shortage of well-known Montreal bands, Arcade Fire just happens to be celebrating the 15th anniversary of their landmark full-length debut, Funeral, which has included the band posting footage of early Montreal appearances on their socials. That might be a coincidence, but the show would have precedent; POP Montreal hosted a free outdoor show by the band in the Quartier des Spectacles back in 2011.

Stay tuned to see who the mystery act is in the coming days. POP Montreal runs from September 25 – September 29 in various venues throughout the city. For the full lineup and passes visit the official POP site.