PARTNER CONTENT
M for Montreal 2024 was a treasure trove of music discovery.
Industry members and musicians flocked to La Belle Province for the showcasing festival and its public component, MARATHON. In its 19 years, the festival has built up a reputation for highlighting emerging acts to key industry players and exporting Quebec's music to the rest of the world.
Part of that reputation comes from the festival's ability to bring in high-profile delegates for industry networking and panels. And part of it comes from the festival's ability to curate artists who are on the verge of breaking through to a new level in their careers, something amplified this year with Billboard Canada as its presenting partner.
Here are three artists Billboard Canada caught at the festival who Canadian music fans should know:
Wyatt C. Louis
Wyatt C. LouisCamille Gladu-Drouin
With a captivating musical delivery, Wyatt C. Louis captured hearts at their Official Selection industry showcase on November 22. Performing with just guitar and voice, Louis managed to quiet a loft full of delegates — no easy task — with direct, vivid storytelling and gorgeous rippling vocal runs.
Louis is a nêhiyaw songwriter based in Treaty 7 Territory, and they've been building buzz with their 2024 full-length debut Chandler, named one of CBC's 8 Indigenous Musicians to Know in 2024. They dedicated songs to their partner, who they married this year, and sang about the importance of trust and acceptance: "take me as I am / rolling down the bend," Louis intoned, and it felt like the audience was rolling right alongside.
Laraw
LarawRosie Long Decter
Indie pop singer Laraw brought vocal skill and natural charm to the late night stage at L'Escogriffe on November 22. It's not an easy stage to command, in a bar where visibility is low and performers are practically at eye-level with the crowd. But the Montreal-based artist had a star presence anyway, interacting with the crowd — one person in a light-up outfit handed her a crown, which she promptly put on — and getting the busy room dancing.
Laraw's Quarter Life Crisis, released earlier this year — and featured in our Fresh Sounds Canada series — has established her as a potential pop princess in the making, followed by summer performances at the Festival d'été de Québec and Santa Teresa festival. The album taps into Olivia Rodrigo's brand of angsty pop songwriting with dreamy atmospherics around the edges, and it sounded energized in person, accompanied by a backing band of live drums and a double-duty guitar/synth player.
With regular performances on a full-sized stage, with a big band, doing what she does best, Laraw could be on the verge of breaking out beyond Quebec.
Living Hour
Living HourCamille Gladu-Drouin
Winnipeg rockers Living Hour filled the small room at Quai Des Brumes on November 23, packing their five-piece group onto the narrow stage. The band, founded by Sam Sarty, Adam Solway and Gilad Carroll, has been building a following since 2016's self-titled debut, especially gaining steam with the 2022 release Someday Is Today.
Their sound veers between shoegaze washes of sound and sparse arrangements that allow Sarty's vocals to shine through, crafting compelling songs that give the sense of strolling around a familiar neighbourhood. They performed some older tracks — like the heavy-hitting "Feelings Meeting" (which features Jay Som on record) — as well as new material, rife with observational lyrics about everyday life in Winnipeg.
Sarty's slightly mournful vocal carried an emotional heft that reached the back of the bar, even when the lyrics weren't always audible, building anticipation for a new release to soundtrack mid-winter walks.
