Olivia Dean Brings a Night of Love, Joy and Pure Star Power to Montreal
Photo credit: Lola Mansell
There are concerts you enjoy, and then there are concerts that feel like a moment you’ll remember for years. Olivia Dean’s sold-out Bell Centre show in Montreal on August 7 was firmly in the latter category.
From the moment the lights went down, the atmosphere was electric. The crowd was already bouncing before Dean had sung a single note, and one thing was immediately clear: this was a room full of women who had come ready to have the time of their lives. With women making up what felt like at least 90 percent of the arena, Olivia Dean has officially established herself as an artist for the girls—and I am absolutely here for it.
But first, the night began with Baby Rose.
Baby Rose: A Delicate Voice in a Very Loud Room
Baby Rose took the stage with songs from her new album, Yearnalism, putting her gift for emotional storytelling front and centre. Unfortunately, the sound mix worked against her. The bass was simply too high, making parts of her set feel muffled and overpowering. Her delicate, distinctive voice deserved a cleaner mix, and the constant murmuring from sections of the crowd made it even harder to fully appreciate the quieter moments.
Still, when Baby Rose sat down with a guitar and performed “Sunday,” the entire Bell Centre seemed to transform. The audience lit up their phones, creating a beautiful sea of light around her as she sang about yearning for peace of mind and her favourite day of the week. It was an intimate moment in an enormous arena—and easily one of the most beautiful moments of her set.
Baby Rose is, at her core, a yearner. There is a vulnerability to her music that pulls you in, and Yearnalism was very much on full display. Her voice was delicate and delightful, and it was a shame that the room—and at times the sound—didn’t give her the quiet attention she deserved.
Then came Olivia Dean.
Olivia Dean: A Star Is Born
The first thing you notice when Olivia Dean opens her mouth is just how good she sounds.
Clean. Effortless. Warm. Powerful without ever needing to prove itself. Dean possesses the kind of voice that makes you immediately understand why you’re in an arena watching her rather than a much smaller room.
She greeted the crowd by suggesting we treat the evening like a first date: have fun, sing along and enjoy ourselves. It was an invitation the Montreal crowd enthusiastically accepted.
Dean has a charisma that feels completely natural. She repeatedly thanked the audience for showing up, and every thank-you felt genuine. Her smile could light up the Bell Centre on its own. She wasn’t simply performing at the crowd; she was building a relationship with them throughout the night.
“So Easy (To Fall in Love),” her joyous ode to loving yourself, received a massive reaction, but some of the most memorable moments came when Dean paused to share pieces of wisdom about love.
Introducing “Let Alone the One You Love,” she referenced Bell Books and a lesson she had taken from the author’s writing after a breakup: to truly love someone is to want them to become the best version of themselves—to see them shine. It was the kind of thought that fit perfectly into the evening’s larger message: love should make us bigger, freer and more ourselves.
That sentiment carried beautifully into “Messy.” Dean hoped that everyone in the room felt present with her during the song. I can tell you we all did. For those few minutes, the arena ceased to feel like thousands of strangers and became a shared moment in time.
A Band That Deserved the Spotlight
Dean’s musicianship was another highlight. She played percussion throughout the show, including a tambourine and shaker that were so heavily blinged out they practically had their own lighting design. It was a small detail, but it captured the playful spirit she brought to the stage.
And the band? Absolutely solid.
Every musician was on point, supporting Dean without ever overpowering her. Later in the show, she introduced them by singing their names, a genuinely lovely gesture that showed how much she appreciated the people sharing the stage with her.
“Time” may have been the performance of the night. Incredible from start to finish, it showcased exactly what makes Dean such a compelling performer: the voice, the emotion, the musicianship and the ability to make a huge room feel intimate.
She also made sure the audience remained part of the experience. At one point she asked how many people were there with their best friends, prompting another enormous roar before launching into the fabulous “I’ve Seen It.”
And then came “Carmen.”
Dean made a point of reminding the audience that the song was about her grandmother, giving the lyrics an added emotional weight. Hearing the line about being “Stronger than I’ll ever be” hit differently with that context. It was a touching tribute, and the saxophone performance that accompanied it was simply incredible.
Intimate Moments in an Arena
Dean eventually made her way to the B-stage for three songs, and the shift in setting changed the energy completely. Suddenly, an arena show became intimate and beautiful.
The connection between Dean and the audience was palpable.
When she returned to the main stage, she walked through the crowd, continuing a generosity that had defined the entire evening. She never seemed to take the audience’s enthusiasm for granted.
Then the disco balls came out.
“Baby Steps” became a glittering spectacle, with the disco balls casting light around the arena and remaining in place for the rest of the show. It was exactly the kind of visual punctuation the night needed: joyful, glamorous and a little bit magical.
Dean finished the main set with enormous energy, and once again, I couldn’t help but appreciate just how exceptional the band had been all night.
For the penultimate song, she gave Montreal a good old-fashioned love song with “Dive.”
And then came the big one.
“Man I Need.”
The massive hit brought the evening to an appropriately euphoric conclusion. The response was enormous, and deservedly so.
Olivia Dean Is a Star
Walking out of the Bell Centre, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we’d just witnessed the beginning of something much bigger.
I can only imagine what it must have felt like to discover artists like Tina Turner or Celine Dion in their early years, before the world fully understood just how enormous their careers would become. Something tells me this is what it felt like.
Olivia Dean is a star.
Not just because she has an incredible voice, although she does. Not just because she can command an arena, although she can. It’s because she has that rare combination of talent, charisma, warmth and authenticity that makes people want to believe in her.
She made a sold-out Bell Centre feel like a first date, a dance party, a therapy session and a celebration of love all at once.
And if August 7, 2026 was any indication, Olivia Dean isn’t simply having her moment.
She’s going to shine for many generations to come.