or decades, Montrealers faced a summertime concert drought as an array of mostly-Euro festivals horded touring talent, leaving everyone else battling for scraps. However, thanks to mini-fests and a glut of wandering musical excellence, things have changed. This summer, Montreal’s show calendar brims with worthy gigs. Here are some of the best big-ticket attractions; don’t worry: sunscreen on your ears won’t inhibit aural pleasure.


Technically, M.I.A.’s June 3rd Metropolis gig is pre-summer, but her sunny sounds are a perfect kick-off to the sweltering season. The Sri Lanka-via-London superstar melange provocateur returns with her unique mixture of world-rap, socio-political leanings, funk-ish grooves, cash-register melodies, kitchen-sink song-smithing, and ebullient coolness. –S.T.


Ben Gibbard and his band of sad-kid heroes, Death Cab for Cutie, always make me think of Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup (aka the two guys that didn’t get on the plane with Buddy Holly, Richie Vallens, and the Big Bopper). There are just some rides that you shouldn’t take. Luckily, this June 6th gig is on a pier, so you don’t have to worry about death cabs or, for that matter, doomed airplanes. As always, watch for those pesky Old Montreal sharks. –S.T.


Ladytron is one of those hip electro-pop bands that you hear all the kids talking about. Ok, maybe you don’t hear all the kids talking about them, but the British group does have quite a few big-name fans and have opened for the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Gwen Stefani. The huge disparity between those two names does a pretty good job at defining the Ladytron sound. It has the atmospheric quality of Nine Inch Nails with the dance-centric mainstream appeal of Stephani. No wonder all the kids may or may not be talking about them. See them at Metropolis on July 2nd. –A.C.


Get ready for phonetic butchery to begin anew: on August 3rd and 4th, Montreal’s annual Osheaga Music and Arts Festival is back. Though the Killers and Jack Johnson headline, the true draw is the fantastic under-card. Indie consortium extraordinaire, Broken Social Scene, and superb literary politicos, the Weakerthans, fill the cool-kid Canadian contingent. Furthermore, revitalized Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall, aka my future wife) and fantastic gypsy art punk provocateurs, Gogol Bordello get deservedly high-billing. Cansei de sur Sexy, the Go! Team, MGMT, and Black Keys round out this stunning line-up. –S.T.


Occasionally, a hole in the English language is plugged by a pop culture noun-turned-adjective. The word “Radiohead” has come to mean anything that straddles that elusive line between critical acclaim and massive popularity. However, in this case, it refers to one of the biggest bands in the world. After reshaping the record industry with the historic PWYC e-release of In Rainbows, the band has hit the road. Since they’re just giving records away they could really use your concert cash. They play Parc Jean-Drapeau on August 6th. –S.T.