Here’s one reason to visit Montreal: It’s an astonishingly beautiful city. For those of us on this particular hemisphere, it’s a much cheaper and shorter flight than anywhere in Europe, but it still feels like Europe. The one time I visited, I tried speaking French, like an idiot, and couldn’t understand a word I got in response. This is what happens when you take high-school French and then never go to France. Didn’t matter. Everyone up there speaks English. Anyway, here’s another reason to visit: POP Montréal, the lovingly curated five-day, multi-venue marathon that comes to town once a year.

This year’s POP Montréal lineup includes cult legends like Iris DeMent, Mannie Fresh, Egyptian Lover, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Edith Nylon, the Fleshtones, Arabian Prince, and Calexico. It’s also got Stars, Cassandra Jenkins, claire rousay, the Spirit Of The Beehive, the Dears, Juana Molina, Still House Plants, Marnie Stern, Alice Longyu Gao, Soulside, Homeshake, and Basia Bulat, among many others.

Some of the highlights include a Wizard Of Oz-themed Be!zarre Kiki ball, and the return of Patrick Watson’s free-for-families Sacred Sunday. The film program will include the Canadian premiere of Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story, and TOPS’ Jane Penny will make her solo debut. The whole thing has hundreds of performances across multiple venues, and you can find all the details here.