Part of my trip to Montreal this summer will overlap the last couple of days of the Jazz Festival. I am wondering how crowded the city will be during that time. Should I budget more time getting around downtown and the surrounding area (will probably be using taxi and uber)? Also, are the agencies busy during the festival for booking? How about the week following the festival (will many of the SP's "take a break" the week following the festival, assuming they are crazy busy during the festival?) Thank you. Looking forward to visiting your fair city.
Jazz Festival - How busy does the city get?
- Thread starter loch69
- Start date
Ste-Catherine Srteet is closed between Bleury and St-Laurent... which means a slight headache for cars.
Lots of people and I mean lots... if you avoid that aera taxis are not a problem otherwise you'd better walk or take the metro.
As for agency and indy... no idea, maybe someone else will provide info.
Lots of people and I mean lots... if you avoid that aera taxis are not a problem otherwise you'd better walk or take the metro.
As for agency and indy... no idea, maybe someone else will provide info.
Thanks for the replies. Several festival-related sites and blogs say that the festival draws over 2 million visitors to Montreal. That is twice as many people as the Super Bowl week typically draws. And having lived in a Super Bowl city, I have seen first hand what 1 million visitors can do to a metro area.
Thanks for the insight. Similar situation happens with Super Bowl week with imports, making the scene chaotic. And the week following seems to dramatically mellow out, with many locals taking a break from the chaos -- I was just curious how the festival impacts Montreal's scene during and after. Thank you for the insight.
Don't forget that this festival is spawned over 2 weeks. That's not a 1-day thing. Outside downtown, you won't notice a difference. Some streets are closed to traffic so plan accordingly but for escorts, i would say that there are more than enough in Montreal to please everyone at all times.
I have attended the Jazz Festival every year except one I think since 2003. The hotels are a little fuller than usual, and traffic is rougher than usual, but those issues are not really a big deal if you are dumping your car in a garage somewhere. The Grand Hyatt is the best place to stay since it is "Ground Zero" and features a balcony from which you can see two stages.
The only year I remember when things were a bit out of control was when Stevie Wonder was the headline performer in 2009, performing at a free outdoor concert on the main stage. I could not get near the stage but I did hear the performance from around 2 blocks away. The Montreal police did not seem well organized in terms of their crowd control efforts. It was a bit of chaos.
My favorite Jazz Festival moments include seeing Paul Simon's band warming up in around 2006, watching the band Escort perform as a Disco group in 2011 or 2012 (a performance I watched from the balcony adjacent to the swimming pool at the Grand Hyatt, where a balcony bar had been opened) and a Quebec High School Band Champion performing the Hawaii Five-O theme song (that was around 2004 or 2005, can't remember, but probably the greatest TV theme song of all time and they did a great job with it).
The only year I remember when things were a bit out of control was when Stevie Wonder was the headline performer in 2009, performing at a free outdoor concert on the main stage. I could not get near the stage but I did hear the performance from around 2 blocks away. The Montreal police did not seem well organized in terms of their crowd control efforts. It was a bit of chaos.
My favorite Jazz Festival moments include seeing Paul Simon's band warming up in around 2006, watching the band Escort perform as a Disco group in 2011 or 2012 (a performance I watched from the balcony adjacent to the swimming pool at the Grand Hyatt, where a balcony bar had been opened) and a Quebec High School Band Champion performing the Hawaii Five-O theme song (that was around 2004 or 2005, can't remember, but probably the greatest TV theme song of all time and they did a great job with it).
Ha EB you are bringing back memories...
My greatest outside moment was DJ Champions's performance in pouring rain... I think that was 2006, 2007... My best moment remains the inside after show performance in smaller clubs where often 2-3 groups would mangle together to jam until 3-4 am... It's a girl I had met on reseaucontact that had these pass thru and knew where to go once outside show closed... Wow!
Cheers,
My greatest outside moment was DJ Champions's performance in pouring rain... I think that was 2006, 2007... My best moment remains the inside after show performance in smaller clubs where often 2-3 groups would mangle together to jam until 3-4 am... It's a girl I had met on reseaucontact that had these pass thru and knew where to go once outside show closed... Wow!
Cheers,
Jazz Festival is a good time to book social time+intimate session! You can go see a show, dance and have a drink with a beautiful lady and then bring her back to your room! It's made for a perfect date! 
If i am in Quebec I always attend, leave early in the day and find a place to park and then just stroll around. It was either one or two years ago that Diana Krall had a free outdoor concert, made the mistake of not getting there early enough and gave up trying to get even near the place. This year I plan to see King Crimson, probably the only day I will attend.
Loch69 back in 2011 when Escort performed that was the closest I saw to E, W and F. They actually played a long set of Donna Summer covers and other music from that era. Their lead singer was a mixed racial woman with a Divaesque appareance who was from Paris, spoke in French to the crowd and enthralled them (Escort is actually an American band from Brooklyn). She had a big hairdo and looked quite attractive. Escort was put on the stage adjacent to Jeanne Mance facing towards the Hyatt. I watched from the Hyatt pool balcony and it was a truly enjoyable spectacle from that vantage point.
Last year or the year before I saw native son Shane Murphy, a Bluesy local guitarist, whom I had previously seen perform at Brutopia. Despite being a favorite local son they gave him the smallest stage on the grounds. However he graciously accepted the denigration and played a very energetic 45 minute set punctured by bursts of humorous anecdotes he gave to the audience. He apparently had friends and family in the crowd. If he plays again this year I would recommend as an appetizer to the headliner.
Last year or the year before I saw native son Shane Murphy, a Bluesy local guitarist, whom I had previously seen perform at Brutopia. Despite being a favorite local son they gave him the smallest stage on the grounds. However he graciously accepted the denigration and played a very energetic 45 minute set punctured by bursts of humorous anecdotes he gave to the audience. He apparently had friends and family in the crowd. If he plays again this year I would recommend as an appetizer to the headliner.
Just curious, how is putting a blues singer on the blues stage a denigration? Should they have put him on the polka stage?
It's a small ass stage compared to what Murphy really deserves. I felt badly for him not to be on a bigger stage.
A baseball comparison would be Reggie Jackson signing with the Yankees in 1977. He needed a bigger stage on which to perform. And he gave a great performance on the biggest stage- the 1977 Workd Series. 3 different pitches from 3 pitchers. 3 swings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZNTzxVNv24
A baseball comparison would be Reggie Jackson signing with the Yankees in 1977. He needed a bigger stage on which to perform. And he gave a great performance on the biggest stage- the 1977 Workd Series. 3 different pitches from 3 pitchers. 3 swings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZNTzxVNv24
I'm very fond of Shane Murphy, however, he is as small-time as they come, a bar performer in a medium to small market. The Montreal Jazz Festival is a major event full of internationally known performers. Using your analogy, Shane Murphy is short-season, low A ball. If he's Reggie Jackson, he's Reggie Jackson in 1966, playing in Lewiston in the Northwest League.
The only difference is that Lewiston wasn't Reggie's hometown. Murphy, a native of Montreal, deserved a little hometown discount in the form of a bigger stage. You can't crap on the native son musicians.
The Jazz Fest Blues Stage is the biggest stage, by far, that Murphy has ever appeared on. It's about 8 notches above any bar on Crescent or Bishop.
Not the only difference. The biggest difference is that Reggie was a kid on his way up. Shane Murphy is a bar performer who will always be a bar performer and never more. The Jazz Fest Blues Stage is the major leagues for Murphy. He would be the first to tell you that it was an honor to be invited.
Or Rob McDonald. (Probably the best guitar player in Montreal.)
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