For the last 21 years, FME has been inviting artists — Franco, Anglo, and everything in between — to perform at stages around the city in front of music fans and music industry folks alike. A choose-your-own adventure with rock and roll spirit, RANGE Magazine was on the ground once again this year from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 to witness the carefully curated spectacle unfold. 

Still nursing a hangover from the previous night in Montreal — we landed just in time to catch FME’s pre-fest shindig at L’Escogriffe, where three bands (Ada Oda, Lemongrab, and TVOD) effectively set the tone with a free show that effortlessly matched Montreal’s freak — we found ourselves in the middle of Rouyn-Noranda searching for a drink to help us forget about the long drive. Thankfully, we didn’t have to look far. 

On the main stage, Thursday night, soul-jazz star-in-the-making Hawa B had sufficiently warmed up the crowd and Oakland’s Orchestra Gold performed for fans of all ages. An African psych-rock group that pays as much homage to Chuck Berry as they do Fela Kuti, the group kicked off the festival while giving the audience an important lesson in the importance of recognizing Black influence on all the modern genres we enjoy today. 

Orchestra Gold

For the last few years FME has been curated by the folks at Mothland, a Montreal-based powerhouse that operates as a record label, booking agency and incubator for culture that oozes a special brand of cool you simply can’t buy. No, they’ve earned every bit of cred that they have on their resume. Home to exciting artists that RANGE has championed — from Toronto’s psych-rock heavyweights Hot Garbage to Montreal’s new wave art-punk outfit La Sécurité — Mothland are vibe selectors with their fingers pressed firmly on the pulse of the music industry. So it only makes sense that their relationship with the festival has grown. And just a couple years ago, after showing the festival what they were capable of, they were given the proverbial keys to it. 

With Mothland at the helm, anything is possible and they are using their powers for good. A small town activation with a big city mindset, they stay true to FME’s mandate by lifting up emerging artists and putting them in front of new audiences. It makes sense then that the next band to bare all on the Thursday night mainstage was NYC’s Bodega. The art-punk quintet offered a welcome change of pace and had fans dancing to their cheeky brand of anti-corporate cool. 

Capping things off on the main stage for night one was Montreal post-rockers, Karkwa. Everything this recently reunited band does is with purpose, and we had the opportunity to check out one of their epic sold-out reunion shows this past December on their home turf back in Montreal. But it doesn’t matter where they are, Karkwa have risen up to earn fans that span generations throughout the province and beyond. Playing songs from their Polaris Prize winning album, Les Chemins de verre, and the recently minted Dans le second (Simone Records), their sound and energy is palpable and you couldn’t escape their hypnotic sonic emissions if you tried. 

Karkwa

In true Mothland fashion, the party didn’t stop at the mainstage. Not far away at an indoor venue, Brooklyn’s TVOD dished out their danceable angry guitar rock (that they won us over with the night before in Montreal) to an even bigger audience. Capping off the night for us as we hung on by a thread was NOBRO, a mosh pit-inducing pop punk band that knows how to bring the party. And while we don’t have any proof, it seemed likely that people might have taken their anthemic single “Let’s Do Drugs” to heart, because the energy in the building was messy and sweaty — a memorable first day to say the least.

NOBRO

Over the course of the next three days we were catapulted into the fire that FME ignited at various stages throughout the city. It was raw, captivating, and perhaps even a little Twin Peaks-y. Even the town’s founder, Edmund Henry (E.H) Horne, shares the same last name as the fictional Horne family from the classic David Lynch series. 

Here are some of the highlights from our time spent on the ground in the copper capital of Canada.

Kaya Hoax

Every year at FME, the iconic Montreal-based indie label Bonsound hosts an afternoon pool party at a lakeside house that they rent. The summer vibes were in full effect when experimental pop star Kaya Hoax set up poolside to entertain all the industry types who had suddenly had more than hot dogs to keep their attention. And while her hip-hop leaning, Peaches-inspired music is admittedly better suited for the club — see tracks like “Hot Water,” “Kicker,” and “Heavy” —  she held her own and ended up proving that her bravado could command a crowd no matter the time of day. 

The following evening Kaya Hoax had a chance to show off her nightclub charisma when she opened for the iconic Marie Davidson at Petit Théatre du Vieux Noranda. Her high energy set found her in full control and was complemented by next level projections courtesy of Montreal visual artist Anthony Piazza, who knows how to light up a room and match the energy of whoever he’s collaborating with. 

Marie Davidson

Maryze 

We’ve been following Maryze since her early days when she was living on the west coast. She relocated to Montreal in 2017 to let her bilingual freak flag fly and it’s clearly working for her. 

To say that she has come into her own while experimenting with all sides of pop music would be an understatement. Maryze is a classically trained singer and a seasoned performer. Her set at FME found her setting up solo at a cocktail bar that wasn’t equipped to do her live show justice, but that wasn’t going to stop her from giving the best show she could.

Equating her performance to the likes of sharing excerpts from her diary, the vulnerability of her songs visibly stopped the bartenders mixing up drinks behind the bar in their tracks as she stirred up something that was equally powerful and captivating for everyone to sip on. She even threw in a Gwen Stefani cover and a really strong new track called “False Icon” that she’s been working on with producer Skyler Cocco, showing that she’s only just getting started. 

Ada Oda

Hailing from Brussels, Ada Oda is one band I was especially looking forward to seeing, as I missed them the night before in Montreal. Bringing a really fun on-stage energy, their singer sings in Italian, which adds a whole other dimension to their wiry post-punk stylings. Like Dry Cleaning but if Dry Cleaning was fun, Ada Oda is definitely a band to watch. And word on the street is that they recently signed to Montreal-based label Lisbon Luxe (home of DVTR, Radiant Baby, Super Plage, and many others), so expect something big from them very soon. 

Alix Fernz

Alix Fernz unleashed his debut, Bizou, via Mothland Records earlier this year. The album is a fresh blend of garage rock, new wave, and punk rock that experiments with psychedelic soundscapes. Seeing these songs come to life in a live setting was especially exciting when backdropped by the city’s Horne Mine and copper smelter, as Fernz and his highly skilled bandmates performed a pop-up show outdoors on a somewhat crisp Saturday evening. 

The industrial plant was lit up in the background while the band performed in an adjacent parking lot. Nearby was an art installation that included projections highlighting the problematic past that the mine has caused through polluting the air and water supply, unbeknownst to its inhabitants for many years. Seeing Fernz and his band performing this generator-powered show while the smoke stacks from the factory were illuminated in the distance almost felt like an act of protest and everyone in attendance was more than happy to bear witness. 

Patche 

For the final show on the final evening of FME, the motorik instrumental sounds of Montreal’s Patche dialled into the perfect groove for a proper send-off. Featuring members from other respected Montreal-based prog acts (lô Pelgag, Alex Burger, Mon Doux Saigneur, Lumière, zouz, etc.), Patche aren’t just a jam band, they are psych-rock scientists who wield untamable rhythms. Their use of modular synths and organic instruments created tribal electronic soundscapes that transformed the venue into a rave-like setting, while hypnotized onlookers danced on until the early hours of the morning. 

As I prepared to call it a night, parting ways with all the new friends I had made over the course of the weekend, Mothland’s JP Bourgeois put something into words that truly defined the magic of FME: “Music makes memories,” he told me while exchanging a sweaty embrace.  

It’s true. The sound of music is something that melts onto memories like the cheese curds on all the nasty late night orders of poutine that I consumed while on the ground in Rouyn-Noranda. And that’s exactly what FME has been doing so effectively throughout the last two decades, ensuring that all of the emerging acts who perform have a chance along the way to earn their place in the memories of anyone fortunate enough to attend. 

RANGE editor Glenn Alderson at FME in Rouyn-Noranda 2024.