Free EDM in Montreal

By Stephanie Huang (Contributor)

Flower headbands, sunglasses, flashing lights and wicked beats. Not to mention bodies splattered in paint bobbing around, shuffling and jumping in unison. That is the view Villa Paradizo brought to downtown Montreal’s very own Crescent Street on the 5th and 6th of September.

While the popular Osheaga and the new ÎleSoniq had young adults partying all summer long in Parc Jean-Drapeau, the beginning of fall brought forth a free Electronic Dance Music festival, something never before seen in Montreal. It finally allows fanatics to rally up outdoors without breaking the bank.

DJ Domeno – the main organizer of the event and one of the many performing artists – boasts of this particularity in an interview with Global Montreal’s Jesse Laventure. In his opinion, it allows people of all ages, newbies and connoisseurs alike, to listen to a genre that is gaining more and more popularity.
The atmosphere itself was so lively that a little rain and a couple clouds couldn’t stop the party-goers from unleashing their crazy side. Basically, the lit up stretch of street between Maisonneuve and Sainte-Catherine gave the spectators a last glimpse of long summer nights.

From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., DJs such as MAKJ, DJ BL3ND and Robbie Rivera kept the crowd dancing until it could dance no more. They offered a variety of styles including Trap, House, Hardstyle, and Drum ‘n Bass, all of which kept the ever-growing crowd hungry for more.

Of course, the magnitude of Villa Paradizo still can’t compare to its larger counterparts, but it is a step forward to make such festivals more accessible to audiophiles big and small.