Montreal’s unique vinyl DJ culture gets in the spotlight
Local vinyl DJs perform for 24 hours non-stop
Montreal's 24 Hours of Vinyl event bumped up the crowd for a night and day of DJing, dancing and celebrating vinyl culture from 8 p.m. on Feb. 28 to 8 p.m. on March 1.
Hosted every year since 2011 at various Montreal venues and in other cities, 24 Hours of Vinyl has become an integral part of the city’s Nuit Blanche festival.
The music marathon is organized by Montreal group Music Is My Sanctuary and has been hosted at the Société des Arts Technologiques (SAT) since 2023.
Local DJ and performer Santiago (Santinista) Uribe says the event has become one of the most anticipated parties of the year.
“This party, Lexus, the person that throws it, he puts so much effort and is just like a legend in the scene every year," Uribe said. "It's one of the events that people look forward to the most."
This year, 24 DJs from across the city played in a series of two-hour-long back-to-back pairs.
The first half of the event at nighttime had paid entry and was reserved for adults. However, as morning arrived, the atmosphere changed, and the venue became open to all. A vinyl fair opened at 10 a.m., organized by Vinyl Caravan, a local vinyl pop-up market.
Despite many Montreal clubs and bars recently closing their doors, Montreal’s local DJ culture remains strong.
“I think the underground will always find its way, especially in the city of Montreal, as long as rent is cheap and people have access to [creative spaces],” Uribe said. “ We just can't take it for granted. And whenever spaces do close, we have to be very vocal about it.”
According to DJ Andréanne (Andie) Lachapelle, local Montreal DJs still have plenty of opportunities to showcase their talent.
“For the vinyl scene, I think we have solid foundations concerning venues, in the sense that we have great places to DJ that are open every weekend,” Lachapelle said.
With festivals gaining a greater share of the city’s music culture in recent years, some wonder if festivals can compromise local artists in the process of becoming more international.
DJ Destiny Rosenberg said that tension can grow between international festival branding and local support.
“I think that there is a focus on this kind of international profile that takes away from supporting local DJs," Rosenberg said. "I think that that's a tension that happens at the festivals here, for sure."
Many DJs, such as Rosenberg and Uribe, have noted a rift between the corporate-driven international festivals and the more authentic local events by local artists.
Rosenberg believes the Piknic Électronik festival has become an example of this disconnect.
“When I moved to the city in 2010, [Piknic Électronik] was still really about a local scene and promoting local DJs, and it was a family kind of oriented event,” Rosenberg said. “And obviously, it's not really that anymore.”
Jose Garcia, a former DJ and attendee of the event, shared a similar sentiment.
“I think corporations are taking over, they’re leaving little space to underground [artists], people that don’t have the money that big corporations have," Garcia said. "So I think that this ‘corpo’ thing is eating everything."
Montreal’s Nuit Blanche festival is part of the larger Montréal en Lumière festival, which is promoted by Evenko, a company that is partially owned by Live Nation, an American entertainment giant.
Regardless of being corporate-funded, Montreal’s Nuit Blanche festival has generally promoted local events, artists and venues, as exemplified by 24 Hours of Vinyl.
Lachapelle said continued local representation is key.
“I think as long as festival promoters continue to keep in mind putting local artists in their lineup, it’s going to go well," she said. "I think we have enough talent to fill up those bigger scenes."
