Posts tagged Roots

On June 30, The Montreal Jazz Festival returns to the concert halls and the streets of downtown Montreal after a two-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, the world’s biggest jazz fest had some shows that streamed on line. Last year it was a super mini edition of the fest over five days with mainly local acts and Hull born legendary producer Daniel Lanois headlining. This year, the festival is back in its regular format except with one catch and there will be more free shows than ever. There will be more Black representation at the festival than …

After two years of pandemic life, a sense of optimism, hope and caution is the general feeling among bandleaders and masquerades as they plan for carnivals across North America. Montreal Carifiesta and Toronto Caribana are officially on and preparations for those two street parades are well underway. Unfortunately here in Montreal, organizers of the top mas band ” Roots Cultural Association” have decided not to participate in this year in the Carifiesta parade. Roots was founded by Michael Julien and Stephen Payne and has been making costumes for Montreal carnival (Carifiesta) since 1977. They have won the Band Of The …