Montreal's International Jazz Festival has reached its 40th edition and it is now in full swing. Each year from June 26th until July 6th, artists from all over the world perform in Montreal, on the festival's stages.
The area designated for children looks absolutely fabulous! They really have thought of everything! From the bouncing inflatable playground and slides to the piano steps and the sand area.
Not to mention the free face and hand painting for the children! The little ones are having a blast!
Throughout the 10 days of music, you can see live performances indoors and outdoors. The outdoors concerts are free while those being held indoors require a purchasing a ticket.
Since its first edition in 1980, it had offered over 16 000 concerts. On its stages performed a wide variety of thousands of artists: Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Paco de Lucia, Miles Davis, Ben Harper, etc.
Among the artists performing these year you can see Brian Adams, Pink Martini, Michael Bublé, Morcheeba, Diane Reeves, Erik Truffaz, Miss Emily and many many others more or less famous.
During the festival days, in the Quartier Des Spectacles you can find locals and tourists hanging out, enjoying the delightful music which will reverberate in their hearts for a long time.
Montreal is a great to city to visit year around, but during summer it's the best as it has plenty of festivals going on. No wonder it has been called the city of celebrations!
This year, the Jazz Festival added a new venue. They brought the party from downtown to Verdun and made it all tailor-made for the neighbourhood.
The other night on one of the outdoors stages, Mississippi Heat had an amazing concert, an incredible energy. It was a free concert! How often you get to attend a free concert of a famous band in your country?
How do the festival organizers afford to have so many free concerts? All the drinks, food, souvenirs and everything that is being sold on the premises of the Festival goes to financing the free activities and concerts. They use the revenue to reinvest into the event itself.
Some of the concerts are being broadcasted live on TV or filmed and shown later on. Eric Truffaz's concert was being broadcasted worldwide the other days.
Despite the rain and the gusts of wind, the festival fans stayed and enjoyed the music! It was a wonderful experience!
What most of the people do not know about this festival is that it does not bring only jazz and blues artists. It features diverse music genres and helps discover new talents!