What's Cool at FME 2026 (Public Appeal, haha Laughing, Regularfantasy, Truck Violence and More)

It’s that time of year again… we’re making our end-of-summer pilgrimage to the Festival de musique émergente in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. It’s one of our favourite Canadian festivals, and one that’s certainly worth making the trek (we’ve been going for the last five years!).

From September 3rd to 6th, 2026, Rouyn-Noranda hosts over 80 concerts in venues, bars, and secret locations all over the city. (Our favourite secret show spot is the poutine restaurant — IYKYK.)

In terms of genres, FME brings a carefully curated program blending post-punk, electro, modern folk, metal, experimental music, and more that has us running around town every year. Here are our top picks for this 24th edition of the festival.

Listen along below:

Birds of Prrrey

Indie rock and Riot Grrrl-inspired, Birds of Prrrey take the MainStage at 7 pm. Whether it’s a first encounter with covert misogyny, a lingering heartbreak, or a joyful car ride with your best friends, the lyrics hold your hand while you take the trip down memory lane.

Public Appeal

Electro-sleaze princess Public Appeal plays the MainStage after-party at 11 pm on the Fizz Stage (did we mention it’s free?!). For fans of electro-clash, classic pop, and anything from the “indie sleaze” era, her style is punk in spirit, pop in delivery, and born out of a party-girl lifestyle.

That Static

The party isn’t over yet. That Static, a four-piece Montreal band, go on at 11:30 pm at Pazzo Bar. Expect screaming, singing, and string-breaking alternate tunings — and a whole lotta noise.

Pastel Blank

Kick off your evening with Pastel Blank’s off-kilter tunes at 5:30 pm at Les Mooses. The band can get anyone moving, making “dance music for people who don’t know how to dance.”

La Sécurité

Our favourite Montreal supergroup takes the Petit Theatre at 10:30 pm, hopefully slated to play from their latest release, Bingo! (released via Bella Union & Mothland). Their music is all about living dangerously, perfectly agreeable to being blasted onto dancefloors, while the lyrics share the ethos of the Riot Grrrl movement and celebrate the autonomization of women, friends (mean and nice), as well as benevolence.

Jashim

Jashim brings Colombian club culture to Abitibi. Drawing from Afro-Colombian and Indigenous influences and shaped by diasporic experience, they transform deep cultural roots into futuristic rhythms that reimagine sound, identity, and technology. Catch their set at 11:30 pm at the Fizz Stage.

BALACLAVA

One of our favourite punk bands… ever? We last saw them handing out our pizza at midnight at Taverne Tour, and can’t wait to catch them again at the Petit Theatre for a 12:30 am nightcap.

Rizomagic

New to us, but hype enough for us to be curious, Rizomagic emerged out of Bogota’s underground music scene. Catch them at 3 pm at the Lac Osisko Peninsula.

Regularfantasy

House music enjoyers, rejoice: Regularfantasy graces the Lac Osisko Peninsula at 4 pm for a sparkly descent into the event. This certified house-head doesn’t shy away from throwing in a soft chord, a catchy vocal, or a cheeky twist. Think dark and delicious basslines, guilty pleasures, and a dubby, sensual alt-house sound with a pop feel, nodding to '90s floorfillers with flashes of disco, UK garage, and tripped-out percussive tech moods. Psychedelic, sleek, and styled for the dancefloor, with a retro-leaning visual world inspired by synthetic textures, upholstery, and bold colours. The TLDR: sultry, dusty pop for freaky dancers.

Le Belladone

Edgy, sensual, and cruel, Le Belladone (they/he/she) is an emerging artist from Montreal who leaves listeners somewhere between unease and catharsis. Driven by a queer and feminist perspective, her work explores forbidden territories, where the sacred flirts with the carnal. Le Belladone is like biting into a poisoned fruit and discovering that you love the taste of poison. Get a taste at 6 pm at the QG Salle de Spectacles.

Truck Violence

Loving powerviolence, Truck Violence wails their way through the bitters of modern Western Canadian hardcore and folk, an honesty and shamelessness in disappointment that is both a comfort and a stern regard. We’ve been longtime fans, and can’t wait to catch them at 6:30 pm at 55 Dallaire.

haha Laughing

If the Moths at Mothland are into it, so are we. haha Laughing is an Austin-based experimental noise rap project, blending call-and-response vocals with disorienting samples and distorted beats. Get angsty with them at 1:30 am at the Petit Théâtre de Vieux-Noranda.

Worry

Wanna get emo? Pull up to Worry at 55 Dallaire at 6 pm. The Quebec City-based emo gaze band captures the essence of small-town nostalgia through emotionally charged music.

Get your tickets for FME here. We’ll see you in the pit.

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. 

---

Related Articles