by Taylor Berry

Eight more sleeps until POP Montreal! If you aren’t in the know, this is one of the Montreal cultural events of the year, and means a fantastic combination of art shows, film screenings, fashion and concerts in the city.

So what you think of first with POP is the concerts. Broken Social Scene’s Amy Millan plays Wednesday, September 30th at the Ukrainian Federation, Joel Plaskett plays Thursday October 1st at Club Soda. Yo La Tengo, Sufjan Stevens and Kid Koala all play Friday October 2nd so make your choice wisely. Aside from big shows, POP Montreal means that little places like Jupiter Room, Barfly, and 3 Minots are going to have some seriously good up-and-coming artists playing. The Arcade Fire used to play small venues like this at POP Montreal, so don’t forget the little guys, and go find the next big thing!

FilmPop is screening features at Cinema du Parc again this year, and from the looks of it they are not to be missed. It Might Get Loud is a film featuring Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page, and focuses on their relationships with electric guitar, culminating with performances by all three together. P*Star Rising follows the Diaz family, as youngest daughter Priscilla tries to live out her dad’s dream of becoming a rap star. Family Jams documents a San Francisco tour with Kevin Barker, Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart, and BQE is a film by Sufjan Stevens that explores New York City’s infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

This year’s ArtPop has a combination of emerging and established visual artists, and the festival has collected some of the most vibrant art from Montreal and beyond. Highlights will include a larger-than-life papier-mache collection by Bridget Moser and Jessica Campbell, and Paul Warne‘s interactive installation promises to send participants down what he calls “a psychedelic and luminous mineshaft” using 3D, 2D and computer programming effects.

Finally, there is Puces Pop, featuring an Arts and Crafts fair, a record fair and gear swap, and FashionPop, featuring a runway walk-off with designs by 6 emerging Quebecois designers–can’t guarantee that Bowie will be there but it still sounds pretty promising!

So how do you get in on this wonder? You can just buy tickets to go to the shows you want, or pick up either the Super Pass ($225, gets you in to high demand shows, parties, special POP events) or the POP Pass, which is $85 and gains you access to smaller concerts, art shows and film events. Visit popmontreal.com for more info.