The Montreal International Jazz Festival unveils 2023 lineup!
The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, presented by TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto, continues to evolve to the beat of the music it showcases. Today, its programming team is very proud to reveal the artists who will be performing at this 43rd edition, which takes place this coming June 29 to July 8.
Over the course of 10 days, world-renowned artists including Buddy Guy, Diana Krall, Robert Plant & Alison Krause, Melody Gardot, Herbie Hancock and George Benson will rub shoulders with jazz’s rising stars, sometimes even sharing the same stage. Many established artists will be performing at the Festival for the first time and jazz will be more prominent than ever on both indoor and outdoor Festival stages.
Maurin Auxéméry, the new director of the FIJM programming, says:
“It sounds cliché in the festival world, but it’s worth saying because it’s so true: we are incredibly proud to present a truly balanced program that is jam packed with gems! With the full backing of the big Festival family, each member of the programming team passionately defends their vision of jazz, which has sparked engaging discussions and a program that embodies what the genre is today. Jazz from the 21st century is changing and mutating, drawing on other musical styles, and our programming reflects this refreshing change. Jazz lovers are becoming more diversified, new generations are tuning in, and we couldn’t be happier.”
In 2023, the old guard meets the new, as salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts will be the site of exciting encounters spanning different generations, while jazz legends will share the stage with members of the new guard. At age 86, venerable bluesman Buddy Guy will be bidding the FIJM farewell alongside Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, one of his deserving successors. Now in the sixth decade of his career, pianist and composer Herbie Hancock is always on the cutting edge of world trends, so it’s no surprise that he’ll be performing alongside DOMi & JD BECK, the jazz duo that has been blowing up the Internet (Monday, July 3). He has also done a collaboration on their first album, which came out last year under the new Anderson .Paak label APESHIT. Rich harmonies and rhythm changes means your ears are in for a treat!
While it’s virtually impossible to choose from a line-up the public will love, our team went ahead and shared its picks from among the 350 concerts, two-thirds of which are free!
- Melody Gardot, who charmed us back at the 2019 edition of the festival
- Vance Joy, who serenaded two sold-out MTelus earlier this year
- Christine and The Queens, a French UFO guaranteed to put on an exciting show
- Thundercat, for his impressive collabs including Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller
- Orville Peck, whose last show in town we missed, but we’ll definitely want to be at this one
- The Franklin Electric, for a note of local excellence in a stellar international lineup!
The Montreal International Jazz Festival will be taking place from June 29 to July 8th, 2023. Paid concert tickets will go on sale Thursday, April 6 at 10 a.m. Newsletter subscribers will enjoy an exclusive access to a presale on Wednesday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. For tickets and more info, visit the festival’s website!