Article content Time flies. The 23 rd edition of POP Montreal, taking place Sept. 25 to 29, includes 20 th- anniversary tributes to three iconic local bands that have each marked the city’s music history in their own way.
Indie-rock acts the Dears and Stars perform a double-bill tribute to their respective albums No Cities Left (2003) and Set Yourself on Fire (2004), Saturday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m.
at the Rialto Theatre; while rambunctious multi-culti rap collective Nomadic Massive celebrates its 20-year career with a block party Thursday at 5 p.m. at Marché des Possibles.
For POP Montreal creative director and co-founder Dan Seligman, the shows are a way of coming full circle for the festival, which has grown up alongside these and other long-running hometown groups. “It’s kind of cool — we were around when these bands first started out and they’re still making music,” he said. “I don’t think we began as a festival of nostalgia, but we’ve been part of this indie underground scene and part of that has always been about looking to the past.
” The Dears’ Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak perform during the 2010 edition of POP Montreal. The band will celebrate its 2003 album No Cities Left in a double bill with fellow Montreal act Stars on Saturday, Sept. 28.
Photo by Graham Hughes / Montreal Gazette files Seligman name-checked some of the legendary international artists who have performed at POP Montreal over the years, including Patti Smith, Burt Bachara.