Country music resonated all weekend on Île Sainte-Hélène as the LASSO Montreal festival, presented by Bell in collaboration with Coors Original, rolled out its first edition by welcoming 35,000 fans and demonstrating that Montreal is now the Canadian capital of country!
LASSO, the only major country music festival in Canada taking place in an urban context, had been in preparation since 2019, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic… and this first edition was a great success! Young and old, veterans of the scene as well as newcomers, were amazed by the beautiful festival site (which was revamped to welcome country fans), as well as by the brilliant programming where new country was in the spotlight. Montreal has always been recognized as a great city of music and festivals, and this time, festival-goers came together to celebrate country music.
| We suspected that the country fan community wanted to have a Montreal festival to finally celebrate this musical genre,” said Nick Farkas (Senior Vice President, Programming, Concerts and Events, evenko), “and the more than enthusiastic response has been beyond our wildest expectations. We’re just looking forward to next year!” |
| SOME HIGHLIGHTS! |
On Friday, Blanco Brown conquered the crowd, accompanied by a DJ playing the trap country rhythms that have made the artist’s reputation, in addition to performing some pop classics, hip-hop hits and country ballads; the popular singer even took the time to serenade a few ladies by distributing roses. were particularly energetic as they performed their anthems, but the biggest surprise was when headliner Dierks Bentley joined them on stage, making the crowd react loudly! led by charismatic singer Matthew Ramsey, delivered an electrifying performance, often finding himself among the fans gathered at the front of the stage, where people sang their songs clapping their hands. Long-awaited headliner Dierks Bentley gave it his all during his fiery performance. He was also joined on stage by Ashley McBryde, then by his touring comrade, Tenille Townes and even allowed himself a hilarious parody of some hits from the 90s to end this first day of the festival on a humorous note!
The sunny Saturday day kicked off was given by dynamic local artist Brittany Kennell who quickly put the audience in her pocket. The music party continued with festival ambassador Matt Lang delivering an energetic performance by engaging fans; Breland had fun with the crowd, who loved his fusion of hip-hop beats and country attitude; while Ontario artist Tim Hicks celebrated whiskey, pedal steel and banjos, concluding their performance by making the huge crowd sing in unison. The Canadian band The Reklaws received a special guest, Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, who took to the stage to drink shooters — festival-goers loved it. Riley Green and her country-folk music charmed thousands of festival-goers, then Kelsea Ballerini’s highly anticipated performance — her very first in Montreal! — proved that she represents the future of country-pop. Finally, the headliner Luke Bryan, all smiles and in great shape, offered the thousands of fans exactly what they wanted: surrounded by his musicians, he gave a whole country party with his hits that the crowd took up the chorus. He was the perfect star to spectacularly close the first edition of LASSO Montreal!
The atmosphere was festive and relaxed but the site also included areas to sit and relax in the shade; hammocks hanging on trees, games and activations, kiosks to take souvenir photos and of course the Ferris wheel, still as popular as ever. There is also a large children’s area where they could have fun, not to mention the incomparable view of the river and the Montreal skyline. We saw many improvised line dances in the middle of the crowd and festival-goers singing in chorus all the hits performed on stage. All the artists seemed happy to play for the Montreal audience, often stopping to interact with the fans or take selfies with them. In short, a memorable weekend to celebrate country music under a radiant sky!
THE 2ND EDITION OF LASSO MONTRÉAL WILL TAKE PLACE ON AUGUST 18 AND 19, 2023!