- "How are you supposed to look sexy in ski gear?" A friend asked me the day before Igloofest. I was confused—surely it's a ludicrous idea for people to go to a dance party dressed in jackets and hats? But when I arrived on Friday night, my friend was right: there, in front of me, was a sea of people wearing puffy North Face and Canada Goose coats, bobbing up and down with the beat. It might have been an unusual sight for me, but in Montreal Igloofest is a decade-old tradition, and a staple of the city's winter calendar. So much so that, this year, the festival formed part of Montreal's official 375th birthday program of events.
Montreal is known for its long, harsh winters—locals like to joke that they last up to six or seven months. It snows frequently. But instead of hiding inside their homes and studios, Montrealers make the most of the cold weather, and there's few things they appreciate more than a good party. Igloofest is an offshoot of Piknic Electronik, a summer series that takes place every Sunday on a manmade island in the Saint Lawrence River. In 2007, Piknic organisers trialled a winter version, which proved so successful they expanded it into a festival. 2017 marked the 11th edition, held across four weekends in January and February. I visited for the final weekend.
With a capacity of around 10,000, Igloofest is not an underground event. Its lineup, a mix of local artists, tried-and-true veterans and EDM-leaning acts, balances the hip with the crowd-pleasing. Headliners when I was there included Green Velvet, Dave Clarke and Dirtybird's Shiba San—DJs who strike a decent enough middleground between house and techno orthodoxy and more playful sounds. The crowd, which ranged from barely legal 18-year-olds to grey-haired ravers, had one thing in common: drunkenness. As advertised by many of the bars onsite, drinking is one of the easiest ways to trick your body into feeling warm when you're dancing in -16-degrees.
Walking into Igloofest for the first time felt like entering a bizarre winter wonderland, made all the more surreal by the thundering kick drums. (Montreal is notable for its longtime support and acceptance of electronic music, which the success and widespread appeal of Igloofest underlines.) It's a place you could easily go to just to party without knowing anything about the music. Friday, which featured a hokey set from Shiba San and a forgettable performance from Green Velvet, was more about the experience of dancing with heating pads in my ill-suited running shoes than the tunes.
Saturday, though, was a different story. Moxie played one of the best sets I've heard in a few months, delivering two hours of raucous house with catchy vocal lines, storming piano and pounding Shed-style kick drums. While she banged it out on the smaller Vidéotron stage, Dave Clarke was rinsing the main stage with his usual blend of techno, electro and playful fader work, bringing an old-school flair that felt more authentic and exciting than Green Velvet's wishy-washy turn the night before. Locals such as Softcoresoft and Seychelle also impressed, playing gqom and a mix of eclectic, wonky tracks on Friday and Saturday respectively.
In a happy accident, the best performances I saw over the weekend were by women, which made me realize how naturally Igloofest—a mainstream event, at least in the eyes of clued-in Montrealers—fostered diversity, from its crowd to its lineup. Almost everything about the festival felt uncomplicated: the security were friendly, the sound was good and there was enough heated indoor space to duck into if you were really feeling the cold snap.
The only thing that didn't feel effortless was actually being there. By so recklessly defying the elements, Igloofest can feel like an endurance test, even if you only go for a few hours. But that's part of the appeal, and it engenders an odd sort of camaraderie I haven't encountered much before. When everyone is dancing together in winter gear, there's a sort of close intimacy and sense of shared experience that belies the layers upon layers of clothing. "It's great because you get to cuddle with everyone all the time," I heard someone say on Saturday. He was exaggerating, but he wasn't completely wrong.
Photo credit /
Peter Ryaux-Larsen
Saturday, though, was a different story. Moxie played one of the best sets I've heard in a few months, delivering two hours of raucous house with catchy vocal lines, storming piano and pounding Shed-style kick drums. While she banged it out on the smaller Vidéotron stage, Dave Clarke was rinsing the main stage with his usual blend of techno, electro and playful fader work, bringing an old-school flair that felt more authentic and exciting than Green Velvet's wishy-washy turn the night before. Locals such as Softcoresoft and Seychelle also impressed, playing gqom and a mix of eclectic, wonky tracks on Friday and Saturday respectively. In a happy accident, the best performances I saw over the weekend were by women, which made me realize how naturally Igloofest—a mainstream event, at least in the eyes of clued-in Montrealers—fostered diversity, from its crowd to its lineup. Almost everything about the festival felt uncomplicated: the security were friendly, the sound was good and there was enough heated indoor space to duck into if you were really feeling the cold snap.
The only thing that didn't feel effortless was actually being there. By so recklessly defying the elements, Igloofest can feel like an endurance test, even if you only go for a few hours. But that's part of the appeal, and it engenders an odd sort of camaraderie I haven't encountered much before. When everyone is dancing together in winter gear, there's a sort of close intimacy and sense of shared experience that belies the layers upon layers of clothing. "It's great because you get to cuddle with everyone all the time," I heard someone say on Saturday. He was exaggerating, but he wasn't completely wrong. Photo credit / Peter Ryaux-Larsen