From Montréal to London, Québec’s next wave to hit the The Great Escape, FOCUS Wales and Wide Days

A total of 18 artists from the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province will be looking to get the ear of industry tastemakers and music fans at events including Wide Days, FOCUS Wales and The Great Escape, following in the footsteps of past successes such as Grimes and tUnE-yArDs.

Montréal – the province’s largest city, is frequently cited as a creative hub with a dense network of venues, labels and festivals and the initiative is backed by the M for Montreal and Taverne Tour festivals alongside the Québec Government Office in London and Québec Créatif (SODEC), with support from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec.

Among the confirmed acts is genre-fluid, convention-defying singer/songwriter Hawa B, who makes her UK debut at the Old Blue Last in London on 11 May at an industry-only event in collaboration with BEST FIT, alongside Mothland-signed experimental rock outfit Yoo Doo Right.

Mothland Records will also host a showcase at The Grace in London the 18 May which includes Annie-Claude Deschênes – known for leading cult Canadian bands Duchess Says and PyPy – who makes dystopian disco blending music and performance art for a fully immersive, unforgettable, and surreal live experience, and singer-songwriter-producer Karim Lakhdar's alt-hip-hop project Boutique Feelings.

Polaris Music Prize and Bella Union/Mothland-signed art-punk collective La Sécurité are among the more well-known names playing shows across early May, along with internationally renowned Canadian Folk Music Award-winning Geneviève Racette who blends folk, pop, and Americana to create music that's intimate and radiant; and Montreal producer Hologramme, who has accumulated over ten million streams and recently worked with UK label Anjunadeep.

Other artists coming to the UK include France-born and Montreal-based avant-pop songwriter Hélène Barbier; Q052, winner of Best Male Hip-Hop Artist at the International Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards 2023, whose live set fuses old-school hip-hop with punk rock; and Montreal-based singer, songwriter, and interdisciplinary artist Olivia Khoury.

Several industry events across the tour are invite-only or require RSVP, including a Québec Government Office reception at Edinburgh’s Bongo Club during Wide Days and Wrexham's Penny Black during FOCUS Wales, as well as the Québec x Taverne Tour 10th Anniversary Showcase, in partnership with The Line of Best Fit and M for Montreal at Old Blue Last. Check out the full list of artist showcases below.

Annie-Claude Deschênes: 11 May - (DJ set) Québec Showcase / Tavern Tour 10th Anniversary – Old Blue Last (London) RSVP only / 14 May - The Great Escape – Patterns Downstairs (Brighton) / 15 May - Canada House / The Great Escape – Green Door Store (Brighton) / 15 May - The Alternative Escape – The Oak (Brighton) / 18 May - Foosteps Festival (The Grace) – London

Afternoon Bike Ride: 7 May - FOCUS Wales / M for Montreal Showcase – Penny Black Downstairs (Wrexham) / 8 May - FOCUS Wales – Rockin’ Chair (Wrexham) / 14 May - The Great Escape – Prince Albert (Brighton) / 14 May - The Great Escape – Daltons (Brighton) / 16 May - The Great Escape – One Church (Brighton) / 19 May - Footsteps Festival – Shacklewell Arms (London)

Angine de Poitrine: 10 May - Brudenell Social Club (Leeds) / 11 May - Electric Ballroom (London) / 12 May - Strange Brew (Bristol)

Boutique Feelings: 7 May - FOCUS Wales / M for Montreal Showcase – Penny Black (Wrexham) / 9 May - FOCUS Wales – Rockin’ Chair, Room 2 (Wrexham) / 10 May - The Craufurd Arms (Milton Keynes) / 12 May - The 1865 (Southampton) / 13 May - The Great Escape – Patterns Upstairs (Brighton)

Geneviève Racette: 1 May - Church of St John’s (Cardiff) opening Mared / 3 May - The Folklore Rooms (Brighton) opening for Danni Nicholls / 5 May - Green Note (London) with Roswell Road / 6 May - Kitchen Garden Café (Birmingham) with Roswell Road / 7 May - The Cluny (Newcastle) with Roswell Road

Hawa B: 7 May - FOCUS Wales / M for Montreal Showcase – Penny Black Downstairs (Wrexham) / 9 May - FOCUS Wales – Llwyn Isaf (Wrexham) / 11 May - Québec Showcase / Tavern Tour 10th Anniversary – Old Blue Last (London) RSVP only

Hélène Barbier: 1 May - Wide Days Festival / M for Montreal Showcase – The Bongo Club (Edinburgh)

Hologramme: 16 May - Canada House / The Great Escape – Green Door Store (Brighton) / 16 May - The Great Escape – Fabrica (Brighton) / 17 May - Old Blue Last (London) / 28 May - School Night London – Signature Brew Haggerston (London)

La Sécurité: 14 May - The Great Escape – Caravanserai (Brighton) / 14 May - The Great Escape – Alphabet (Brighton) / 15 May - The Alternative Escape / Bella Union Showcase – Vinyl Shop (Brighton) / 15 May - The Great Escape – Charles Street Tap (Brighton) / 24 May - Bearded Theory Festival (Derbyshire) / 26 May - Oporto (Leeds) / 27 May - Voodoo Daddy’s (Norwich) / 25 Jul - Deer Shed Festival (Topcliffe)

Olivia Khoury: 7 May - Dash the Henge (London) / 13 May - Paper Dress Vintage (London) opening for Joe Wilkins

Patche: 15 May - The Alternative Escape / Bella Union Showcase – Vinyl Shop (Brighton) / 16 May - The Great Escape – Quarters (Brighton) / 17 May - Old Blue Last (London)

Q052: 12 May - Canadian Showcase – Strongroom (London) / 14 May - The Brunswick (Brighton) / 16 May - Canada House / The Great Escape Festival – Green Door Store (Brighton)

Yoo Doo Right: 4 May - Hare and Hounds (Birmingham) / 6 May - Bristol (The Exchange) / 7 May - Falmouth (Cornish Bank) / 9 May - Focus Wales – The Parish (Wrexham) / 11 May - Québec Showcase / Tavern Tour 10th Anniversary – Old Blue Last (London) RSVP only / 13 May - Billy Bootleggers (Nottingham) / 14 May - The Great Escape – Secret Comedy Club (Brighton) / 14 May - Shacklewell Arms (London) / 15 May - Canada House / The Great Escape – Green Door Store (Brighton) / 15 May - The Great Escape – Daltons (Brighton) / 16 May - Where Else (Margate)