New music festival sets up beneath Mile End overpass
Acts include City and Colour, Patrick Watson, Cat Power and Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Montreal's summer music scene plays out in parks, venues, streetside stages and, starting this September, below an overpass in Mile End.
The fledgling music festival Mile Ex End gets its name from being at the northern limit of the bohemian Mile End neighbourhood, marked by the Van Horne overpass.
"An urban fest in this kind of location has never been done," said programming director Caroline Johnson.
She said the graffitied no-man's land between Mile End and Mile Ex has the perfect "vibe" for what they are working to create.
"This location was absolutely amazing because it really represented Montreal," she said.
With Johnson's help, the festival was organized in just four months. Johnson is a seasoned band booker — she used to program for the Montreal International Jazz Festival and Les FrancoFolies.
"I knew the agents. I just started to speak to them about this new event and there was a lot of buzz about it," Johnson said.
Buzz helped the newbie festival land big acts like City and Colour, Patrick Watson, Cat Power and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Additions to the lineup will come over the summer.
The two-day festival is scheduled for Sept. 2 and Sept. 3 with eleven bands playing each day.
Tickets are $60 for one day or $90 for both.
There will be three stages, food trucks and outdoor bars setup throughout the area.
With files from Verity Stevenson