This past week was a milestone for CKUT as we welcomed Phil Vassel and Donna McCurvin from the Canada Black Music Archives and Mark Campbell from U of T’s Afrosonic Innovation Lab to the airwaves for deep dives in to Montreal’s rich Black music history- much of which CKUT has been at the nexus of for the past 4 decades.

Spanning three days and over 150 performances, as well as live podcasts, yoga, wrestling, and a tattoo pop-up shop, the festival truly had something for everyone. Its setup, which consisted of venues that were largely within a 15 minute walking distance (MEM, Foufounes Electriques, Turbo Haus, etc.), flooded a tangible slice of the Quartier des Spectacles with a sea of impressively decked out festival-goers in studded and patched leather jackets, fishnets, stretched lobes, and creative variations of shaved and coloured hair.