A mainstay of the Montreal music scene, Igloofest is one of the more unique festival experiences out there. Every year, thousands of snowsuit-clad revelers flock to Montreal’s historic Old Port during the dead of winter for four weekends of partying to the sounds of the world’s biggest names in electronic music.
From highly-anticipated headliners like Armin Van Buuren and Lane 8 to local DJs performing in the festival’s Après-Ski series, this year’s lineup featured sets from dozens of top-tier artists. There were some definite highlights though, and we’re here to share what we consider the best of Igloofest 2024.
- Marc Rebillet
You might be familiar with Marc’s work from a series of viral TikToks—and there’s certainly an inextricable influence of internet culture on his stage persona—but the Texan DJ’s headlining set at Igloofest’s opening weekend was a reminder of the talent that comes packaged with his tongue-in-cheek performance style.
Combining performance art and his signature funk and hip-hop influence sound, Rebillet confidently brought the excitement to Igloofest, setting the tone for a month of excellent performances.
- 100 gecs
When it comes to eclecticism, there’s no one who does it quite as expertly as Dylan Brady and Laura Les (a.k.a. 100 gecs), the American hyperpop-punk DJ duo who first hit the scene in 2019 with their groundbreaking album 1000 gecs.
Backdropped by an animation of a gremlin that bordered on the grotesque, the duo—performing at Igloofest for the first time—offered Montreal audiences a DJ set that drew on everything from Karl Orff’s Carmina Burana to dance anthems from Vengaboys and SOPHIE. Evidently pulling from their own repository of well-loved dance tracks, it was exciting to see 100 gecs exploring and sharing their eclectic music taste with their devoted fanbase.
- Sultan + Shepard
Hailing from Montreal, Sultan + Shepard are a dynamic DJing duo whose trajectory has taken them to incredible heights. With a Grammy nomination and collaborations with the likes of David Guetta and Tiesto (all achieved in their first couple of years of music making, btw), it’s no wonder that their performance was so captivating.
Slotted between Lane 8 and EMBRZ, the duo took the Sapporo Stage to share in a couple of hours of ecstatic music-making, spinning some of their recent releases (“Falling Behind,” “Highest Love”) and melodic house favorites like Bicep’s “Apricots.”
- Eric Prydz
Progressive tech-house legend Eric Prydz was one of the most highly anticipated acts of the festival, attracting a massive crowd to Igloofest Sapporo Mainstage for what proved to be two hours of techno excellence.
Bringing the heat to Weekend 3 with a set that surpassed my already high expectations, Eric shared remixes of well-loved Depeche Mode and Daft Punk tracks, expertly taking the crowd on an unforgettable journey that left us all just a little speechless.
Whether you were raised braving Montreal’s winters or are new to the whole below-zero thing, it’s clear that Igloofest offers a festival experience so special that it might just make you shrug off the snow. After a month of partying to such incredible acts as the ones mentioned above, I’ve no doubt that I’ll be returning to Igloofest next year.
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