Montreal’s Igloofest is back & celebrating 15th anniversary 

Igloofest is back for the first time since the pandemic to celebrate its 15th anniversary

The festival opened Thursday with Australian DJ Flume and will offer music lovers a diverse line-up of artists from the electronic scene ranging from synthwave to techno.

Taking place over four weekends in Montreal’s Old Port, the event will close on Saturday, February 11 with Ben Böhmer, Yotto, Cri, Olan and Eli and Fur.

Featuring electronic artists from all over the world, the festival is once again drawing crowds from Quebec and elsewhere, having become a tourist attraction for the province.

“What’s a better reason to drag people outside and have fun? Party! And in Montreal, we’re pretty good at it,” says Igloofest co-founder Nicolas Cournoyer.

A staple of Montreal’s music scene, Igloofest was created in 2007 and has since then brought together local and international artists to make electronic music fans dance in the cold in their one-piece snowsuits. The concept is simple and known by all festivalgoers: even when temperatures drop to -20, the show goes on.

Like all festivals, Igloofest could not take place in 2021 due to public health restrictions and was cancelled at the last minute in 2022 for the same reasons even when 60,000 tickets had already been sold.

This year, the audience seems to be rushing to this revival since four events are already sold out, a first in the history of the festival.

“People are looking forward to it. They missed the last two years and it’s really really cool there are some people from elsewhere in Quebec, from the United States, Europe, and South America, sometimes people come to experience something unique you won’t have anywhere else in the world,” says Cournoyer.

“To be a Quebecer and be able to do that in your own country, in the cold especially, because we experience this every winter. I feel like it’s such a unique experience,” says Quebec DJ Audrey Belanger.

For the first snowy weekend of the event, the public will be able to warm up to the sounds of British duo and Grammy Awards nominees CamelPhat and American EDM DJ Porter Robinson.

The following week will feature, among others, French artist Kavinsky, young rising techno artist u.r.trax as well as Swiss artist Nora en Pure that many fans consider as the current diva of deep house.

The third weekend will offer the public a mix of hip-hop and techno influences with Belgian rapper Hamza, bands Bob Moses and WhoMadeWho. The weekend will close with artists from the Montreal-based label Kannibalen Records: Canadian trio Black Tiger Sex Machine and Belgian producer Apashe.

The last Friday will feature world-renowned EDM artist Tiësto, for his first time at Igloofest. One of the most famous musicians to attend the event, Tiësto’s concert is eagerly awaited by fans.

On Saturdays, from 1 to 6 pm, the festival will also be hosting family-friendly events called Igloofête where parents can bring their children along for free activities. Together, they will be able to enjoy hot beverages, listen to more playful and mainstream music and play games.

Igloofest also announced 25 “Après-Ski” nights in various places in Old Montreal such as the PHI Center or Francesco’s, from 11pm to 3am.

To close the event, festivalgoers will be able to dance the night away until 6am on Sunday, February 12.

For more: igloofest.ca