A RECORD-BREAKING FOURTH EDITION FEATURING COUNTRY MEGASTARS JELLY ROLL, BAILEY ZIMMERMAN, SHERYL CROW AND MORE!
The fourth edition of LASSO Montréal, presented by Bell in collaboration with Coors Original, once again confirmed its place as Canada’s premier country music gathering, welcoming an unprecedented 51,500 fans (20% travelling in from outside of Quebec) over the weekend. With unforgettable performances, community-gathering line dancing, and even a mechanical bull, this record-setting year showed without a doubt that Montréal is a city that loves country music.
The celebration began even before the festival grounds opened, with LASSO in the City hosted by SiriusXM on Thursday night at Théâtre Beanfield. Rising star Cameron Whitcomb brought raw charisma and relentless energy to kick off the weekend. The sold-out show set the tone for what would become a weekend of passion, music, and dancing.
The festival ignited with pure passion on Friday, where Vince Lemire proudly took the stage as a leading figure of francophone new country. Across the site, The Jack Wharff Band opened up the Bell LASSO stage with a blend of bluegrass, country, and rock, surprising even themselves with the roaring anticipation from fans who were ready to celebrate from the very first notes.
Local journalist, Stuart Nulman was there on Day Two and filed this report for the Montreal Times.
Crowds gathered for line dancing lessons at the Winslow tent, laughter echoed from the mechanical bull, and the overall vibe at Parc Jean-Drapeau was one of collective joy and discovery. SiriusXM’s Top of the Country finalist Sully Burrows brought southern flavours to an attentive crowd at the Coca-Cola RANCH stage. The night unfolded with a wave of Québec talent: Francis Degrandpré charmed fans with hits like “Bang Bang” and “Se laisser aller”, while Chloé Leclerc, Rick Duff and Cindy Bédard carried the torch for the next generation of local country voices right here in Montréal, and rising star Savannah Jade stood out as she dazzled with her new songs and radiant stage presence.
An Insider Report from the 2025 Lasso Montreal Festival
Attendees at the 4th Annual Lasso Montreal enjoyed live performances by a mix of up and coming and high profile country music artists like Riley Green, Bailey Zimmerman, Shaboozey, Sheryl Crow, Dasha, Cameron Whitcomb and Jelly Roll.
I managed to attend the second day of the festival and enjoyed a full day of the Lasso Montreal experience filled with live music, good food and other related kinds of fun. Here are some of my observations from that day.
Day Two – Saturday
Day 2’s line-up of shows was kicked off by an entertaining set from Teigen Gayse —in her second appearance at Lasso Montreal — who delighted the audience with her repertoire of original songs and a medley of tunes from some of her favourite singer/songwriters like Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne.
Following her set, the Kelowna, BC native sat down for a brief interview at the Lasso media tent. She mentioned that she always enjoyed performing, whether it was her beginnings as a figure skater and then transitioning into being a singer.
“I was a big Family Channel girl, and I liked watching Hannah Montana (played by Miley Cyrus) and how she pursued a music career,” she said. “She and other Family Channel characters were so young. And I thought to myself that if they can do it, I can do it, too.”
At the age of 14, influenced by Taylor Swift’s growing success, Teigen began to write her own songs.
“And I never stopped doing it,” she added. “I love all genres of music, but when I started to write songs, they all came out as country music ones. Country music is the kind of genre that’s so from the heart, as well as real and authentic.”
At the age of 22, while working at a bar in Kelowna, Teigen then took on the singing aspect of her budding career. “My colleagues at the bar knew I loved to sing. So I went onstage and started singing songs on a regular basis,” she said. “In 2020, I released my first recorded song and it made it to the Top 50 charts. That’s when I knew I could really do this as a career.”
Next month, Teigen will release a new single called “The Best Part”, which she describes as a love song with a strong message. “It’s like a ‘getting over him’ kind of song, which comes from the heart and details how I go on with my life afterwards,” she said. There will be a few more new singles that Teigen will release in the near future that will also help her decide the musical direction she wants to pursue.
“I am just going with the hook, write more songs, and let the best one win,” she said. “I have a lot to say and I want to figure out what that right direction will be and who do I want people to see me as. I hope people will connect with it.”
Sensational Jelly Roll!
Perhaps the most anticipated show of day 2 was that of country music superstar Jelly Roll, who played a memorable 90-minute set in front of a massive, captivated audience to officially wrap up Lasso Montreal 2025. It was his last performance before heading overseas to join up with Post Malone on a cross European tour that started in Berlin.
Born Jason Bradley DeFord, the Nashville, Tennesse native’s story on the road to fame in the country music world is filled with hardship. He was arrested and convicted multiple times on robbery and drug-related charges, and served time in prison for the former charge. He found salvation in music, and started his music career in 2003 as a hip-hop artist. He made the transition to country music in 2021, when he made his debut on the stage of the revered Grand Ole Opry.
90 Minutes of the four E’s
Watching Jelly Roll’s show at Lasso Montreal can be described with the four “E”s: entertaining, enlightening, empowering and empathetic; and there was no shortage of these four characteristics throughout those 90 minutes. For example, he displayed the deep camaraderie with his band by relaying interesting tidbits about each member (my favorite dealt with his lead guitarist and his good credit score); when he saw a young woman holding up a sign that stated that her father was marking his 1,384th day clean and sober, Jelly Roll went into the audience to meet up with her father, whose name is Mike, and personally congratulated him on his more than three years of sobriety; he created a powerful sense of community by having the audience to sing along with him to one of his favorite songs, which was “Take Me Home, Country Road” by the late John Denver; and speaking of sing alongs, he ended his set on an emotional note, as the audience sang along with him to his closing number — his 2020 hit “Save Me” — which left the audience deeply moved and reaffirmed.
By the way, a special shout out to Jelly Roll’s bassist, who sported a Concordia Stingers hockey jersey throughout the show.
Other Music Highlights
And while I waited for Jelly Roll, I spent three hours or so catching some pretty good acts on the Bell and Coors stages. The Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project performed bluegrass tunes in the style of Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs with a Quebecois twist to it that had the crowd singing and dancing along to. Another group, The Dead South, did a set of lively, traditional country music, and made it look authentic by dressing up like wild west preachers. Riley Green, who was part of the line-up at Lasso’s inaugural edition back in 2022, returned with an entertaining set that defined what contemporary country music is all about; it was highlighted with a surprise two-song duet with Dasha that the audience loved.
Giant Karaoke Party
Lasso had an engaging way for the audience to be active while they were waiting for the next performance. It was a giant karaoke party, in which the massive video screens that bordered both main site stages featured classic country songs for them to sing along with, such as Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” or Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” (which I sang along with in quite a robust manner, complete with Johnny Cash-style air guitar accompaniment).
Swag
Probably the most visible item of Lasso swag was the portable cowboy boot-shaped glass that was available for purchase at many of the bar kiosks throughout the festival site. And given the hot temperatures that prevailed during the second day, it was not an uncommon site to see many of the attendees quench their thirst cowboy style.
Kiosks
And what’s a summer music festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau without some interesting sponsor/partner kiosks? Two of them caught my attention. First was the the Winslow dancing tent, where attendees were taught numerous boot-stomping country line dancing routines; by later in the afternoon, the tent was overflowing with dancers and observers alike. The other was the Coors Original booth, where there were large line-ups to have a free Poloroid photo taken of them at the booth and then choose to take home a bolo string tie or a leather holster-style cup/bottle holder that can be worn on their belt.
Promotion Team
Kudos to the press team for their hard work and tireless dedication not only at Lasso Montreal, but also the Osheaga and Ile-Soniq festivals, which took place at Parc Jean-Drapeau for three consecutive weekends this and every August. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for Lasso Montreal’s 5th anniversary edition, which is scheduled for Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16, 2026. And believe it or not, there is now an “Early Cowboy Special” promotion for weekend ticket packages for next year. This promotion runs until August 23 at 10 p.m. Just go to lassomontreal.com to find out more and how to purchase your ticket package.
See you back at the ranch next summer!
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