{"id":837177,"date":"2026-07-31T01:53:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/837177\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T01:53:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:53:23","slug":"montreal-pride-headliner-jeremy-dutcher-shares-his-favourite-montreal-spots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/837177\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Pride Headliner Jeremy Dutcher Shares His Favourite Montreal Spots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained tenor, Two-Spirit song carrier, polymuse, activist, ethnomusicologist, and member of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in Eastern Canada.<\/p>\n

With his debut album,\u00a0Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, Jeremy unearthed century-old archival recordings of his ancestors and turned them into collaborative compositions for the grand piano. Sung entirely in Wolastoqey, his endangered mother tongue, the album won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize and led to collaborations with iconic artists Yo-Yo Ma and Leslie Feist.<\/p>\n

His sophomore album\u00a0Motewolonuwok (\u14a3\u144c\u1427\u1401\u14d3\u14c4\u1427\u1401\u1483) won the 2024 Polaris Music Prize, making Jeremy the first two-time recipient of the award.<\/p>\n

Dutcher proudly identifies as queer and Two-Spirit, was a guest judge on Season 3 of Canada\u2019s Drag Race, was personally chosen by Elton John to perform at the 2026 Glenn Gould Prize Gala honouring Elton, and headlines Fiert\u00e9 Montreal\u2019s Lumi\u00e8re des Nations concert at Le National on July 31.<\/p>\n

Check out: Montreal Pride 2026: your ultimate guide to parades, events and parties<\/a><\/p>\n

Montreal-based Dutcher\u00a0sat down with\u00a0Time Out Montreal\u00a0for a candid Q&A.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

In your music and work, why do you address how colonization brought homophobia and transphobia to\u00a0Indigenous peoples?<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s something I deal with as a person. Naturally our work is a reflection of how we live in the world and where we come from, and I\u2019m always grappling or thinking about this. There are young people who want to be represented, so there\u2019s a responsibility to give them something that is unapologetically Two-Spirit, or queer and Indigenous.<\/p>\n

What will people see at your Lumi\u00e8re des Nations concert?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so excited about this show! It\u2019s going to be an evening about the power of music, through the lens of Indigenous languages and cultural survival, with queer Indigenous artists sharing the stage together. Something queer people and Indigenous people have in common is resilience.\u00a0 We\u2019re not free until we\u2019re all free. We need each other in that struggle. So I think it\u2019s really cool that Fiert\u00e9 Montreal is presenting this concert.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Cabaret
\nPhotograph: Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique M\u00e9nard-AubinLa Tulipe <\/p>\n

How does it feel being a two-time recipient of the Polaris Music Prize?<\/p>\n

Awards are weird, to be honest. But this award means a lot, and it was different receiving it the second time because I appreciated the scale of it more the second time. For me it was a real launching pad. It was a huge honour.<\/p>\n

What was it like to be a guest judge on Canada\u2019s Drag Race?<\/p>\n

It was a dream come true and so much fun. I\u2019ve been such a fan of drag since I was a \u201cgayby\u201d in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I snuck into a gay bar underage to see my first drag show!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

How did it feel being personally chosen by Elton John to perform at his 2026 Glenn Gould Prize Gala?<\/p>\n

Oh my gosh, I\u2019m still coming down from that! It was absolutely surreal. I think you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a queer person who hasn\u2019t been touched in some way by Elton\u2019s music. In addition to asking artists like Sarah McLachlan and Diana Krall to each sing his songs, we also got to have dinner with Elton which was really special. He has the sweetest Grandpa energy! And when you get music people together, you have a common language that you can slip into pretty easily. At the gala I sang \u201cI\u2019m Still Standing\u201d which actually was Elton\u2019s choice, and Elton joined us all to sing \u201cGoodbye Yellow Brick Road\u201d. It was such an incredible moment, especially to be a queer person wholeheartedly on that stage.<\/p>\n

You moved to Montreal in February 2020. What are your thoughts of the city\u2019s diversity?<\/p>\n

I think Montreal is so cool. My understanding is that it is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world. The long story of diversity and peace here is incredible. Some of the ancestors from the Wolastoqey Nation were actually at the signing of the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701. There is a long history of movements sharing this place and collaborating here.<\/p>\n

What’s is your favourite Montreal neighbourhood?<\/p>\n

I live in Mile End, but there are so many neighbourhoods<\/a> in this city that I adore. There are many cities in this city! Whenever I\u2019m cycling in Montreal, I can happily get lost. I don\u2019t know too many people and I don\u2019t get recognized here, which can be fun. Though it\u2019s always nice when somebody looks at you sideways and says, \u201cHi!\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal ranked one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mile
\nPhotograph: Daphne\u0301 CaronMile End <\/p>\n

What activity do you love to do in the city?<\/p>\n

The parks here are really special. In summertime I like to cycle and sit in a park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Parc
\nPhotograph: Andr\u00e9 PichetteParc Jean-Drapeau <\/p>\n

But in wintertime I like to go skating<\/a>. I like the Beaver Lake skating rink on Mount Royal \u2013 they usually have some nice ice up there. I love speed skating. I used to be an Eastern Canadian champion. Then I transitioned into a hockey player. I love to be on the ice, and I think it also contributed to my affinity for Lycra and Spandex!<\/p>\n

\"Beaver
\nPhotograph: Ray SabbaghBeaver Lake <\/p>\n

What are your favourite bars and concert venues?<\/p>\n

One of the things that really drew me to Montreal is the fact that you can go out any night you want and have a vastly different experience in a different part of town and a different subculture. I really like Doubles Late Night<\/a> in Mile End. They really got it going on. It\u2019s chaotic, they got food, a pool table, TVs. I also really like the live-music venue Fairmont Theatre where I recently saw the Norwegian metal band called Witch Club Satan. I also like Le National where I played on one of my first cross-Canada tours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Discover: The best gay bars in Montreal and LGBTQ+ hot spots<\/a><\/p>\n

Any favourite restaurants?<\/p>\n

The food in Montreal<\/a> is just incredible! The other night I enjoyed dinner at the Japanese restaurant Fleurs et Cadeaux in Chinatown. I also like brunch or lunch<\/a> at Le Butterblume in Mile End.\u00a0I enjoy discovering new restaurants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Le
\nPhotograph: Alison SlatteryLe Butterblume <\/p>\n

What are your favourite Montreal festivals?<\/p>\n

I really like POP Montreal. I have also performed at the Festival International de Jazz de Montr\u00e9al which was awesome. And I look forward to performing at Fiert\u00e9 Montreal with Attikamekw singer-songwriter Laura Niquay on July 31. Despite the corporatization and institutionalization of Pride, I think Pride celebrations are important. It is representation and community.<\/p>\n

\"Pride\"
\nPhotograph: Patrick SicotteFiert\u00e9 Montr\u00e9al <\/p>\n

Explore:\u00a0The best festivals and events in Montreal for 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

When I attended my first Pride, it was a powerful connection point for me because we don\u2019t necessarily get taught how to be queer people. Coming from an Indigenous worldview and understanding the power of the powwow, I see Pride as a gathering place and the expression of unity through love, and that is the most beautiful thing.<\/p>\n

\"Pride\"
\nPhotograph: Annie DiotteMontreal Pride <\/p>\n

Jeremy Dutcher headlines Fiert\u00e9 Montreal\u2019s Lumi\u00e8re des Nations concert at Le National on July 31. For more Fiert\u00e9 Montr\u00e9al Festival programming highlights, click\u00a0here<\/a>. For more Jeremy Dutcher information and tour dates, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Complete guide to the\u00a0best things to do in Montreal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained tenor, Two-Spirit song carrier, polymuse, activist, ethnomusicologist, and member of Neqotkuk (Tobique…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,291950,8358,2338],"class_list":["post-837177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-categories-lgbt","tag-lgbt","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837177","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=837177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}