The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (FIJM), aka Montréal Jazz Festival, presented by TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto, unveiled the complete program for its 45th edition! For 10 wonderful days, from June 26 to July 5, 2025, downtown Montréal will vibe to the sounds of jazz with over 350 concerts, two-thirds of which are free of charge! Capped by a visit from the legendary Nas and sensation Ayra Starr, not to mention the activities around the Oscar Peterson Centennial, the 2025 program is a reflection of what the Festival has accomplished for 45 years: spotlighting and supporting the next generation of jazz stars, while never forgetting its roots.
“The FIJM team has once again brilliantly risen to the challenge of curating a lineup as bold as it is accessible. After 45 years, this event, a crossroads between the local and international scenes, still knows how to reinvent itself, keep up with the times and redefine what jazz is, here and now. It is a remedy to the challenges of our era, an opportunity to come together and celebrate the unifying power of music, beyond genres and borders.” – Maurin Auxéméry, Director of Programming, FIJM
Put on by music lovers for music lovers, the program for this 45th edition takes spectators on a musical journey through diverse genres, building unexpected bridges between them and creating a meeting point for all music influenced by the jazz tradition. Devoted fans will be delighted to welcome back legendary American jazz singer Dianne Reeves at the Théâtre Maisonneuve (Place des Arts) as part of the LES GRANDS CONCERTS RIO TINTO in collaboration with Rythme 105.7, and to discover the captivating Mexican-Chilean artist Mon Laferte at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts (ÉVÉNEMENTS SPÉCIAUX TD), a blues-pop icon and multiple Grammy winner.
The lines between the local and international scenes are blurring. Homegrown artists of all calibres are joining talents from around the world: two Montréalers, Elisapie (TD Stage), a world-renowned Inuk singer-songwriter, and Salin (ENTRÉE LIBRE TD at the Studio TD), an amazing drummer who explores the enchanting sounds of Northern Thailand, will rub shoulders with BALTHVS (TD Stage), a Colombian psychedelic funk band that eclectically melds disco, house, surf rock and cumbia music. It’s also a short step from the eclectic rhythms of British DJ Bonobo, whose concert is featured in the LES RYTHMES MOLSON series at MTELUS, to the historic jazz outfit The Sun Ra Arkestra (Rogers Stage), pioneers of Afrofuturist music. Jazz is alive and well this year, with performances by virtuoso saxophonists accompanied by an ensemble that will please purists of the genre; they include Camille Thurman & The Darrell Green Quintet (Pub Molson), or Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few, not to be missed at the Studio TD.
Montréal Jazz Festival is also a festival that grows with its artists; from Samara Joy, the genius singer whose career had a meteoric rise after gracing our stages, and who will be featured in the LE FESTIVAL À LA MAISON SYMPHONIQUE ROGERS series this year at the Maison symphonique (Place des Arts), or award-winning young vocalist Tyreek McDole (Le Studio TD), who will also be opening for Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts (ÉVÉNEMENTS SPÉCIAUX TD).
With its strong lineup of outdoor events, the Festival’s 45th edition will also treat crowds to high-quality concerts free of charge. These include Esperanza Spalding (TD Stage), a talented singer-songwriter as well as the very first jazz musician to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. And let’s not forget Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (TD Stage), led by a hugely popular trombonist and trumpeter who got his start in jazz earlier than most, at age four, making his first appearance performing with the great Bo Diddley. This year’s Festival is also already shaping up to be the year of guitars, with highly anticipated performances by Yasmin Williams (Rogers Stage), the genre-blurring Tiny Desk sensation, and Tommy Emmanuel, Australian fingerpicking specialist, who will perform at the Théâtre Maisonneuve (Place des Arts) in LES GRANDS CONCERTS RIO TINTO in collaboration with Rythme 105.7.
You can find the complete schedule here.
