We’re almost into the third month of 2023, and Montreal is already exploding with a string of upcoming concerts for later this year that will spotlight some of the biggest names in rock, dance and jazz music.
For example, jazz legends Herbie Hancock and Diana Krall will perform at the 43rd edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival on, respectively, July 3 and 4; Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will make a stop at the Bell Centre on November 20 as part of their 2023 tour; the legendary 1980s band Guns N’ Roses performs at Parc Jean-Drapeau on August 8 as part of its 2023 North American Tour; superstar singer Pink performs at the Bell Centre on November 1 and 2 as part of her Trustfall Tour, along with special guests GROUPLOVE and KidCutUp; and the line-up for the 2023 edition of the Ilesoniq Festival, which runs from August 12-13 at Parc Jean-Drapeau, was recently unveiled and includes some of the best names in dance music such as Above & Beyond, The Chainsmokers, Michael Sparks, Ship Wreck and Voyd. Tickets for these shows are now on sale. It’s going to be a rockin’ 2023 in Montreal.
Jimmy Carr coming to Montreal
And for all those fans of British comedian Jimmy Carr who weren’t able to get a ticket for his June 21 “Terribly Funny” show at the L’Olympia, take note that a second show has been added for that same night at 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the second show are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ca.
Congratulations to Montreal-born multidisciplinary performer Ghislaine Dote
Congratulations to Montreal-born multidisciplinary performer Ghislaine Dote, who is one of the inaugural recipients of the Black Shoulders Legacy Award, which honours Black theatre artists from across Canada, so that they be further equipped to possess the necessary skills in order to be at the top of their artistic game. Ms. Dote has performed as a dancer for a number of dance companies and studied in Montreal, Vancouver (where she currently resides), the UK and Switzerland. She hopes that the $5,000 honorarium that comes with the award will help her to workshop her first bilingual opera. The other Black Shoulders award recipients are Robert Ball, Peter Fernandes, Dela Ruth Hini and Anthony Santiago.
Disney On Ice’s newest production
The annual March break is fast approaching, and if you want to take your children to see two of Disney’s most popular animated features of the past decade – Frozen and Encanto – live in person, take them to Disney On Ice’s newest production, which will be presented at the Bell Centre from March 2 to 5. Anna, Elsa, Mirabel, the Madrigal family, as well as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and many more favorite Disney characters will be there in person, as fans of all ages will get the opportunity to experience live the worlds of Frozen and Encanto together in a single show.
And due to popular demand, two more performances have been added to the schedule; a French performance on March 2 at 3 p.m., and an English show on March 3 at 11 a.m. As well, the cast includes Olwith Lindor, who is the first Haitian skater to appear on the Disney On Ice shows (he grew up near Port-au-Prince, learned to skate in Brazil and survived the catastrophic 2010 earthquake in Haiti); Florian Valeria, who portrays Kristoff (who is related to French Olympic bronze medalist Philippe Candeloro); plus Canadian skaters Cassandra Ablack, Jess MacDonald, Carter King, and Vanessa Navarro. Tickets for Disney On Ice are now on sale at www.evenko.ca.
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The Optimista cineconference series concludes on March 4 at Quai 160 of the Verdun Cultural Centre, which starts at 7 p.m. This final instalment’s theme is “community”, and includes an exhibition by visual artist and photographer Quang Hai Nguyen called “In these eyes lies an endless ocean”; a performance by jazz and soul vocalist Aliah Guerra; a journey through the history of Black music by Montreal broadcaster and music authority Duke Eatmon, which will serve as the introduction to two documentary screenings: the short The Swimming Club, and the Oscar-winning feature Summer of Soul, which tells the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. As well, the event will be bookended with a cocktail party that will serve special Optimista cocktails and mocktails, plus a live DJ set by DJ Rafalinio. For more information, go to www.optimistamtl.com/community.
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