gentrification<\/a> of the Saint-Henri neighbourhood has led to the bar\u2019s current crowds coming from all over the city. The mix of neighbourhood regulars, newcomers and curious first-timers is what gives these nights their unpredictable energy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\u201cMontreal is kind of the music capital of Canada,\u201d Wilde said. \u201cI think it\u2019s definitely important for spots like Courcelle to keep existing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frisco Lee, the eccentric on-and-off host of Courcelle\u2019s open mic since 2014, has seen countless connections spark in the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen so many bands formed here over the years,\u201d Lee said. \u201cThere\u2019s musicians who meet each other and keep coming back, kids who wait until they\u2019re 18 to come\u2013\u2013since the pints are also cheap\u2013\u2013and of course, the broke artists who\u2019ve been here since forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Frisco reflected on special moments from past open mics, the answer arrived on cue. A man dressed in a full Gandalf costume walked through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis! It\u2019s happening right now!\u201d Frisco said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s these kinds of unplanned, unpolished moments that fill these bars with warmth and charm in the middle of winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For some performers, it\u2019s about debuting a new song to an audience for the first time, but for most, the open mics serve as a community of support.<\/p>\n
Edward Laberge, a regular attendee and Saint-Henri resident, described the scene as deeply rooted in its surroundings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a community within a community,\u201d Laberge said. \u201cHistorically, it\u2019s been more of a closed community here, or Verdun and Pointe-Saint-Charles, so I like to support the industries and businesses that are around this area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laberge works around the same block as the bar, so he stops by after work on almost every Sunday night.<\/p>\n
That night, local singer-songwriter Madison Trasler had delivered a beautiful acoustic set on piano with a few original songs as well. Trasler recalls her first experience stepping on a stage, which coincidentally was at Courcelle a few years back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized there isn\u2019t much of a point to just performing and then leaving without listening to the other acts,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought I\u2019d first do it to just get exposure, but it\u2019s not really worth it to just do it for that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For many, the sustainability of Montreal\u2019s artistic culture depends on mutual investment, where artists stay, listen and support one another.<\/p>\n
Having just moved to Montreal from Calgary to pursue music, it was folk singer-songwriter Annie Wilde’s first time attending Courcelle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMontreal is kind of the music capital of Canada,” Wilde said. “I think it\u2019s definitely important for spots like Courcelle to keep existing.”<\/p>\n
The performances that evening varied from stripped-back solo acts to a 10-minute harmonica set complete with audience participation. Performers demonstrated the range and openness of the space; regardless of genre or skill level, the room never lost its warmth.<\/p>\n
Across the city on the busy stretch of St. Denis St. in the Plateau-Mont-Royal sits Turbo Ha\u00fcs, a landmark for Montreal\u2019s live music community. Almost every young local musician has a story or memory there, even touring artists.<\/p>\n
For the past four years, Turbo Ha\u00fcs has hosted its weekly Tuesday night open mics. Filling up the bar doesn\u2019t seem to be an issue for them, even on frigid February evenings.<\/p>\n
Sergio Da Silva, owner of Turbo Ha\u00fcs, recalls how touring bands who stay at the hotel next door will hear about their open mics and pop in to play a couple of songs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s these bands who should be playing in 500-600 people rooms who are coming to the open mic to have a few jams,\u201d Da Silva said.<\/p>\n
He has also seen folks who come in just for a pint get caught in conversations that lead them to unexpected connections.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really the spontaneity of it that is the most fun,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Da Silva attributes the turnout to the city\u2019s sheer volume of aspiring performers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s enough people in the city who want to play music to make it work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Among the crowd at Turbo Ha\u00fcs on a recent Tuesday were familiar faces from Courcelle, illustrating how these venues\u2019 communities often overlap.<\/p>\n
Noah Hassan, one of those attendees, said the appeal extends beyond the performance itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like meeting people who like writing music and have the same interests,\u201d Hassan said. \u201cWalking off the stage is fun because I leave with adrenaline, but watching other performances is also great. I sometimes leave with new ideas or friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot_2026-02-23_19.08.22.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\tThe band mid-set, the moment caught as it unfolds beneath neon lights. Lea Joy Sabbaghian<\/p>\n
The highlight of the night came when a band was formed in real time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three friends took the stage together for the first time, introducing themselves as Port Cullis after coming up with the name on the spot. Channelling their nerves into momentum, the trio delivered an unforgettable debut set.<\/p>\n
Guitarist Dylan Jacobs reflected on the experience afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty much like a new thing for all of us,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cIt was really fun, kind of nerve-wracking, but definitely fun. I think we\u2019d absolutely do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Lee from Bar Courcelle and Mike Hand, host of Turbo Ha\u00fcs, expressed a similar sentiment about their roles in sustaining these spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe I get to do this. I feel so lucky to call this a job,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n
In rooms like these, there is a space for everyone, regardless of skill level, genre or reason for stepping on stage. Night after night, this is how Montreal\u2019s music culture is kept alive, one nervous performer at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cMontreal has a lot of places for starting musicians,” Lee said, “but as long as they hear about the place and come once, they\u2019re sold.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Staple neighbourhood bars remain the cornerstone of the city\u2019s open mic culture Fringe ArtsLea Joy Sabbaghian \u2014 Published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-496588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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