It’s our favourite time of year again, where we journey to Rouyn-Noranda Abitibi for FME (Festival de musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue) to see some of the best local and international music of the year.

We at Also Cool have been big fans, and attendees, of the festival since 2021, and are happy to head back again this year for its 23rd edition. As always, we like to keep our festival schedules organized, so we’ve broken down our FME Top Picks for the weekend ahead.

Listen along below:

Crasher, the electro-punk trio from Montreal, play on Thursday at 8pm at Cabaret de la Dernière Chance. The band is fronted by Airick Asher Woodhead (Doldrums / Errhead), and formed during COVID while ‘bubbling’ in a shared jam space. Their 2021 tape STREET CLEANING MACHINES OF THE WORLD made major waves, and we’re eager to hear new songs from their to-be-released debut full-length ODDITI POPULAIRE. It’s easy to get freaky to Woodhead’s caustic lyrics and melodic singing, and is a perfect way to kick off the festival.

Yoo Doo Right take over the same venue on Friday at 9pm with their hypnotic wall of sound (also known as krautrock). Bring your earplugs and settle in for noisy, melodic guitar parts, effects-laden synthesizer soundscapes, deep bass grooves and patented percussive furies into sprawling, cathartic musical pieces. Drawing inspiration from post-rock, krautrock, shoegaze, classical music, electroacoustics, and musique concrète, they create a unique sound where “towering monoliths of roaring riffs crash against swarms of restless rhythms”

The mainstage welcomes one of our very own Also Cools, DJ Flleur, on Saturday, who plays 7–8pm, and in between sets by Empanadas Illegales (cumbia/surf), The OBGMs (punk/rock), and Les Trois Accords (pop-rock). Pull up and dance hard, this won’t be your typical DJ set.

Sunday welcomes a more laid-back vibe to wrap up the weekend, with a set from Ada Lea at Apéro Air Canada at 6:30pm. Alexandra Levy, known as Ada Lea, is a Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist whose third album, when i paint my masterpiece, blends music and visual art through a deeply intuitive and imagistic lens. Levy’s lyrics explore transformation, dreams, and the act of observing oneself.

Insider Tip: Keep an eye out for the “secret shows” that tend to pop up all weekend! Make sure to download the app to stay up to date with all of the festival’s surprises.

Get your tickets here, we’ll see you in the pit.

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