Rising stars of Québec's music scene to shine in the UK this spring

Under the Québec Spring banner, eight guitar-driven bands that have earned a reputation for their thrilling, high-energy performances – ALIAS, La Sécurité, DVTR, Bon Enfant, Soran, Choses Sauvages, Corridor and Emilie Kahn – will perform at events such as Wide Days, FOCUS Wales and The Great Escape across May.

Québec – home to Montreal – has nurtured the early careers of artists such as Kaytranada, Grimes, Mac DeMarco, Patrick Watson, and tUnE-yArds, as well as rising stars such as Charlotte Cardin, Jean-Michel Blais, Suuns, La Zarra and Half Moon Run.

Singing in their native French language, Bon Enfant (lead photograph) make music loaded with 70s influences – phantasmagoric and best enjoyed with a flower in your hair and a sword in hand.

Art-punk collective La Sécurité (pictured above) make music that's equal parts jumpy beats, off-kilter arrangements, and minimalistic melodic hooks and the resulting sound meanders the fringes of punk, new wave and krautrock. The five-piece put out their first full-length Stay Safe! last June.

As DVTR, Laurence Giroux-Do and JC Tellier (pictured above) from the band Le Couleur take a side-step for their punk project inspired by the sound as much as the politics of punk.

The sound of multi-instrumentalist Emmanuel Alias (pictured above) draws inspiration from psych, dance-punk and hip-hop, with twisted and hallucinated themes at the forefront. Under his artist name Alias, his debut EP dropped in 2021 and he released his first LP Jozef the following year. Alias also composes music for HBO shows such as Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects and his second album EMBRACE CHAOS comes out later this month.

The pop and R&B sound of Montreal-based half-Japanese and half-French artist Soran (pictured above) is informed by interdimensional soundscapes and irresistibly infectious hooks. Since the start of his musical career, he's racked up almost 100 million streams.

Sub-pop signed Montreal quartet Corridor (pictured above) release their fourth album Mimi later this month, recalling the very best indie rock has to offer and a fresh break for a band that’s already established themselves as forward-thinkers.

The showcases come from music conference M for Montreal, with networking activities organised in partnership with the Québec Government Office in London and SODEC. Founded in 2006, M for Montreal – which runs from 20-23 November 2024 – is a business catalyst for artists and industry professionals, contributing to the promotion and export of Québec artists, as well as positioning Montreal as an essential music capital.

The complete schedule for Québec Spring runs from 2-18 May:

2 May
Emilie Kahn, Soran, ALIAS and DVTR at the Wide Days Music Festival, M for Montreal showcase, Bongo Club (Edinburgh)

8 May
La Sécurité at Shacklewell Arms (London)

9 May
La Sécurité, Bon Enfant, DVTR and ALIAS at FOCUS Wales, M for Montreal showcase, Penny Black Room 2 (Wrexham)

10 May
DVTR at FOCUS Wales, The Rockin’ Chair 2 (Wrexham)
Bon Enfant at FOCUS Wales, The Rockin’ Chair 1 (Wrexham)
La Sécurité at Kazimier Stockroom (Liverpool)

11 May
Bon Enfant at In Colour Festival, Brudenell Social Club (Leeds)
La Sécurité at Sneaky Pete's (Edinburgh)
ALIAS at FOCUS Wales, The Rockin’ Chair 2 (Wrexham)

12 May
La Sécurité at Just Dropped In Records (Coventry)
Bon Enfant at Band on the Wall (Manchester)

13 May
La Sécurité at Big Hands (Manchester)

14 May
Soran at Canadian Showcase, Studio1 - Strongroom (London)
La Sécurité at The Lanes (Bristol)
Bon Enfant at Hare & Hounds (Birmingham)

15 May
Bon Enfant at The Lanes (Bristol)

16 May
La Sécurité, Haviah Mighty, Choses Sauvages and Mock Media at The Great Escape Festival, M for Montreal showcase at Patterns Upstairs (Brighton)
Bon Enfant at Acid Box Super Fuzz Weekender (Brighton)

17 May
La Sécurité at The Great Escape Festival, Patterns Upstairs (Brighton)
Corridor at The Great Escape Festival, Canada House, Green Door Store (Brighton)
Bon Enfant at The Great Escape Festival, Canada House, Green Door Store (Brighton)

18 May
Bon Enfant at The Great Escape Festival, Dust (Brighton)
Soran at The Great Escape Festival, Canada House, Green Door Store (Brighton)
Soran at The Great Escape Festival, The Prince Albert (Brighton)
Bon Enfant at The Shacklewell Arms (London)