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Angine de Poitrine Draws Record Crowd at Montreal International Jazz Festival
The viral Quebec duo played on the outdoor TD Stage at Place des Arts in one of the most anticipated concerts at the festival in years. The streets were absolutely packed, creating a viral scene as tens of thousands of fans poured in to get a glimpse of the world's most viral band live in concert. Loads of fans came dressed in polka-dotted attire and threw triangles in the air with their hands during the show, reflecting the global movement that the Saguenay natives have created through their music.
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In a statement to Billboard Canada, the Montreal International Jazz Fest called the show a "defining moment in the Festival's history," noting that the Place des Festivals grounds were "filled to capacity." Some estimates suggest the number would be around 70,000, but it could be even higher than that. Though the spokesperson says the festival is not releasing exact attendance figures since the concert was free and requires further analysis, they describe the performance as the biggest crowd the festival has seen since Stevie Wonder drew a staggering 200,000 people to his headline performance in 2009.
That's a staggering figure considering the speed at which the group has blown up. Angine de Poitrine played the festival just last year in a much more intimate set last year on the Club Montréal Loto-Québec stage, which welcomes around 2,000 spectators. Though it came before their breakthrough KEXP performance, it was the early start of their rise. In a recent Billboard Canada Executive of the Week interview, Feldman Agency booking agent Steven Himmelfarb says that's how he first became aware of the band before they became the hottest live band in the country.
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Within just a year of appearing on last year's flyer in smaller print, Angine de Poitrine's unique math rock and polka-dotted costumes have catapulted the band to international stardom. They most recently played in Montreal for the launch of their popular Vol. II album at Club Sodain April, with two sold-out nights at the 1,000-capacity venue, but this year's Jazz Festival performance made it clear that they can already draw crowds like a major global festival headliner.
The crowd for Angine de Poitrine at Montreal Jazz Fest 2026.Victor Diaz Lamich
Jacques-André Dupont, the managing director of Équipe Spectra, which puts on the Jazz Festival, celebrated the historic turnout with a Facebook post showing the massive audience. "A historic night at the Festival… One of the biggest crowds in our history, thanks to Angine! And an energy like we’ve rarely seen," he wrote.
The packed crowd stretched over two streets going southbound, filling up the Place des Festivals strip until René Lévesque Boulevard, even spilling onto the sides of Sainte-Catherine St nearby, with fans finding any inch of space they could and others climbing structures.
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Emergency medical services confirmed that six people were hospitalized following the massive concert, which representative Benjamin Dansereau-Leclerc explained was "not out of the ordinary" for large events, adding that the injuries were not all related to a singular incident.
The crowd for Angine de Poitrine at Montreal Jazz Fest 2026.Benoit Rousseau
Angine de Poitrine continues to scale by the day. They hit several Billboard charts for the first time last week, with Vol. I and Vol. II making their Billboard 200 debut following both albums' major release on vinyl and CD. Billboard Canada also celebrated the band's unprecedented success by presenting them with the Global Breakthrough Award during Billboard Canada Power Players 2026, a moment that racked up more than a million views online. The following day, their manager Sébastien Collin was honoured with the Manager on the Rise Award at Billboard Canada Managers to Watch 2026.
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