Launched in 1993 under the artistic direction of Gilles Garand, the La Grande Rencontre Festival has become a cornerstone of cultural life in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and beyond. It champions the arts of the traditional social gathering (“veillée”) and living heritage through a wide range of cultural activities, including major concerts, dance gatherings, training and skills-transmission workshops, entertainment, music sessions, and more. Over the years, more than 2,700 artists from Quebec, Canada, the United States, and Europe have contributed to the Festival’s renown.
Since 2021, the Trad Montréal Festival (formerly La Grande Rencontre) has positioned itself at the forefront of tradition. An innovative, relevant, and inclusive festival, it helps shape the future identity of the trad scene and spotlights the bridges the trad artistic community builds between contemporary trends and traditional arts.
Pine Tree Flyers
This commitment to passing on and sharing knowledge—which lies at the very heart of traditional culture, a culture of the people, by and for the people—is accompanied by a deep desire to bring together artists, cultural practitioners, and audiences from all generations and communities around a unifying event that fosters social cohesion, reciprocity, and mutual discovery.
Festival aims to bring together the artists, artisans, researchers, and tradition-bearers who shape the identity of the Quebec trad community through music, dance, song, storytelling, and other disciplines. It serves as a home base for the community and develops innovative spaces where it can express itself and diversify within Montreal. The Festival transmits traditional culture, stimulates its development, and fosters its reach across Quebec, Canada, and the rest of the world.
Spanning three days—from September 4 to 6—at the Maison de la Culture Ahuntsic and Ahuntsic Park, the 2026 program will feature stage performances, preview concerts, a traditional dance evening, roving performances, a family-friendly village of booths, talks, music and dance workshops, amateur music sessions, masterclasses, entertainment, and much more.
Olivier Soucy en trio
Friday, September 4, 2026
Olivier Paré
Sandrine Masse
Pine Tree Flyers
Saturday, September 5, 2026
L’Ensemble de l’École des arts de la veillée
Pascal Gemme
Benoit Legault
Marie-Soleil Pilette
Carmen Guérard
Malvenn
Yaro
Plume
Olivier Soucy en trio
Louis‑Philippe Pharand
Sunday, September 6, 2026
la Fanfare de L’île
Jean Duval
Volages
l’Ensemble Trad Jeunesse
Zeugma Danse
Maxence Croteau
Louis‑Simon Lemieux
Louis‑Philippe Pharand
Laurence Beaudry
Plume
Les Mercenaires du terroir
The Trad Montréal Festival invites you to its 34th edition—a vibrant crossroads where the traditions of yesterday meet those of today. It is a next-generation festival, serving as both a showcase and an incubator for the traditional music scene of tomorrow in Montreal and Quebec.
For information on each of these artists, visit: www.festivaltradmontreal.ca