“Hello friends,” began Canada-based composer and performer Beverly Glenn-Copeland on a recent Instagram post beside his wife and creative partner, Elizabeth Paddon. “[We’re] here today because we have some news to share with you.”

For the past decade, Glenn-Copeland has traversed the world, performing his singular music and experiencing a career-high in his 70s. His music — moving, operatic, ethereal — had sat dormant for decades until it was discovered by a Japanese vinyl collector and became a favorite of tastemakers like Four Tet, Caribou, Arca, Blood Orange and music connoisseurs alike. But, as he announced on Instagram, his current tour would be his last. He had been recently diagnosed with dementia and had been managing the condition alongside Paddon.

The news added a layer of gravity to Glenn-Copeland’s recent performance at Montreal’s Rialto Theatre. But even with that, the tone inside the historic performance space was not one of tragedy, but of (teary) celebration. Glenn-Copeland, a pioneering Black trans artist, had finally found a rapturous audience. “We want to challenge the mainstream image of this illness, which focuses on loss. We are actively asking the universe to show us where the life is,” said Glenn-Copeland. And indeed, there he was, vibrant, filled with energy, performing alongside Paddon with a choir of singers behind him and a packed crowd of admirers in front.

It’s fitting that the performance happened as part of POP Montreal, the multi-venue, multi-day, not-for-profit festival that takes over Montreal every September. Now in its 23rd year, the festival has a long history of honoring legends and newcomers alike. “The initial motivation for the festival was to do something that brings together a bunch of cool bands,” shares POP Montreal co-founder and creative director Dan Seligman. “[We thought that] the industry would come, but we wouldn’t make it about the industry.” Citing experiences at similar city-wide festivals where industry pros would sit in the back and survey bands like a “buyer’s market,” Seligman and his co-founder, Peter Rowan, sought to create an experience that had a true Montreal ethos. “Montreal’s not really like New York or LA where it’s industry-driven. It’s more about the community and the vibe of the city,” says Seligman. “[We wanted to] make it more about the fans, less pretentious, and more about that Montreal spirit.”

The festival started years before Montreal’s own Arcade Fire brought its brand of cinematic rock music to stages worldwide, and a decade before Grimes, who began making music as a student at McGill, shifted pop music forever through her early sonic experimentations. It was luck, then, according to Seligman, that the history of the festival aligned with a stretch of time when Montreal produced some of music’s most vital, irreplaceable stars. “Arcade Fire played the second edition of the festival and was the first of three on a bill,” remembers Seligman. “I remember Grimes’ first few shows.” Indeed, POP Montreal hosted Grimes’ album release party for her pre-Oblivion album, Halfaxa. “They were a train wreck in a way, but there was also something completely unique and captivating about her music and performance.”

This year, the festival leaned into that history, most notably through a celebration of the late singer Lhasa de Sela (known eponymously as Lhasa), who long resided in the Mile End neighborhood of Montreal. The American-born singer weaved together diverse musical traditions (American folk, Mexican ranchera, big band jazz) and sang in English, Spanish and French, making her at home in the uniquely bilingual city. In 2010, Lhasa died of breast cancer, but she is still revered as a central figure in Montreal’s musical history. The tribute concert, which also took place at the Rialto Theatre, was organized by Lhasa’s brother, Mischa Karam, and featured a prestigious lineup of artists such as Silvana Estrada, Juana Molina, Calexico and Feist. Similar to Glenn-Copeland’s performance, the space was dense with feeling, as fans, friends and Lhasa’s family members revived her spirit through word and song.

But even as Lhasa’s tribute and Glenn-Copeland’s performance provided moments to consider the long arc of musical history, the busy festival also had ample opportunity for concertgoers to lean into the new. PAPER fav and former Montreal resident Cecile Believe had a hometown hero moment in Rialto Theatre’s underground venue, Piccolo Rialto. A longtime SOPHIE collaborator, Cecile Believe performed her recently released collaboration with SOPHIE’s, “My Forever” to a dense throng of fans on the same day as SOPHIE’s posthumous album release.

Other standouts included Nabihah Iqbal, who served double duty as DJ and performer, offering fans a set of her solo musical work before jetting off to a joyous vinyl DJ set on another stage. And New York City’s own Cassandra Jenkins played a moving show to a crowd that sang along to her sleeper hit, the spoken word “Hard Drive.” Her inspired reception was a fitting end to a blessed trip for the artist. “I’m kind of mad because people always told me how much I’d love Montreal,” she said to the crowd. “I just didn’t realize how much I really would.”

In total, the festival featured 200 concerts in 20 venues over five days and consisted of both intimate affairs and packed theater shows. With the support of government funding, POP Montreal has found a healthy equilibrium between scale and community. “There were so many beautiful, amazing performances and moments,” reflects Seligman of 2024’s round of POP Montreal. “It’s about the connection you have to the people participating, whether they’re staff or the small group of friends and artists you’re close with,” he shares. “That’s the magic.” And though they’re a far ways away from their early days of the festival’s loft parties and general DIY mayhem, it still hums with a communal, can-do spirit. POP Montreal still pops.

Photography: Sarah ODriscoll