5 good reasons to take advantage of outdoor music festivals

At last it’s summer! A season you wait for all year long, particularly due to the many music festivals that enliven our cities. This is the ideal period to attend an outdoor concert. Here are 5 good reasons why.

1. Take advantage of nature

Many festivals are held in the heart of summer, at the very time when nature is luxuriant and the weather is mild. So why not take advantage of the season to stick your nose (and ears!) out of the house and attend an outdoor concert? Concerts held on outdoor stages and in outdoor amphitheatres offer the advantage of bringing together warm weather and musical airs under the same roof (or rather under the same starry sky!). People dream of these events to enjoy the long summer days and evenings, while letting themselves be rocked – or lifted in rhythm! – by high-quality musical performances.

2. Awaken your senses

The 2019 programs of Les Francos de Montréal, the Montréal International Jazz Festival or Festival de Lanaudière, in particular, leave nobody indifferent. They offer many outdoor concerts featuring renowned artists, such as Ariane Moffatt, Charlotte Cardin and the Orchestre Métropolitain. Although attending these artists’ shows is a memorable experience in itself, doing this while watching the sun set on one side and the moon rise on the other is simply unforgettable, without counting the sound and the interplays of light that amplify every sensation! Prepare to shiver, not with cold, but with pleasure!

3. Dare something new

Another good reason to attend an outdoor concert is to discover new musical styles in splendid settings, whether in the heart of the city or in nature. You can combine enjoyment and daring by attending concerts by artists previously unfamiliar to you. Who knows whether they’ll become the next heartthrobs…

4. Be open to encounters

Outdoor concerts are places not only for musical discoveries, but for human encounters. People tend to speak to each other and fraternize more in an outdoor setting, as if all the decorum of concert halls had disappeared! You won’t be surprised if you’re talking to your neighbours, singing with them, and even exchanging impressions and appreciations.

5. Refuel with beauty

During outdoor concerts, you forget about your job, the traffic and the renovations. It’s summer, the weather is lovely and a succession of talented artists on stage take you on a musical journey without you having to leave your seat… Frankly, what more could you ask?

The Festival de Lanaudière is the biggest classical music festival in Canada. It will be held from July 5 to August 4, 2019, at the enchanting Fernand-Lindsay outdoor amphitheatre in Joliette. Among the featured artists this year, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) will open the festival under the direction of Alain Altinoglu, with a seductive program bringing together the works of Mendelssohn, Wagner and Strauss. The OSM will be back in the amphitheatre on August 3 for a promising Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, conducted by Kent Nagano – it’s high time to take advantage of the maestro’s unique talent, before the end of his mandate at the OSM in 2020! And don’t forget the two concerts of the Orchestre Métropolitain and its popular conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who will bring us into the domains of Berlioz and Brahms.

Dance will also be part of the event: for the first time, Les Grands Ballets canadiens will perform on the Festival de Lanaudière stage, where they will repeat their acclaimed double bill of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

Movie lovers can enjoy screenings under the stars of a selection of hit films full of melodies.

Look forward to beautiful evenings!