Boots, Borders, and Big Hooks: LASSO Montréal Turns Five and Doubles Down on Country’s Global Moment
- All Country News
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
There was a time not all that long ago when country music crossing into Montréal felt like a novelty. A curiosity. A Nashville postcard dropped in a city built on jazz, indie rock and late-night electronic sets.
Now? It’s a migration.
This summer, the St. Lawrence River will again reflect cowboy hats instead of skyline lights as LASSO Montréal celebrates its fifth anniversary and in doing so, quietly cements itself as one of the most important international stages for modern country music.
Set for August 15–16 at Parc Jean‑Drapeau, with a city kickoff on August 14, the festival expands into its first full weekend format, a symbolic evolution for an event that has grown alongside country’s own genre-blurring renaissance.
And fittingly, the 2026 lineup reads less like a bill and more like a map of where country music is headed next.
The Globalization of the Genre
At the top sits a familiar stadium-country anchor in Thomas Rhett alongside the folk-arena sweep of Mumford & Sons, a pairing that would’ve been unthinkable at a traditional country festival just a decade ago.
Add honky-tonk revivalist Jon Pardi and harmony-heavy hitmakers Old Dominion and you start to understand LASSO’s identity: not a purist gathering, but a living snapshot of country’s widening borders.
That philosophy deepens with the newly announced wave.
Texas firestarter Koe Wetzel, fresh off a career-defining No. 1, brings the rowdy Southern-rock edge that has pulled younger rock fans into country crowds. Meanwhile Oklahoma torchbearers Turnpike Troubadours make their long-awaited Québec debut, a moment that will feel less like a booking and more like a pilgrimage for Red Dirt devotees north of the border.
Then comes the emotional counterweight: Carly Pearce, whose storytelling traditionalism has become the genre’s conscience, paired with viral folk-pop crossover voice Chance Peña and rising songwriter Max McNown, artists who found audiences online before radio ever caught up.
Together, they outline country’s current paradox: roots music thriving in a digital ecosystem.
Canada’s Moment on a World Stage
But LASSO has never positioned itself as a traveling American festival with French signage. Its power lies in balance, a cultural handshake between Nashville and Canada’s rapidly expanding country identity.
Returning fan favorite Cameron Whitcomb represents that next wave, a performer whose energy mirrors the genre’s Gen-Z momentum. He joins staples James Barker
Band and Québec risers Classe Moyenne and Zach Chico, grounding the weekend in local pride rather than borrowed aesthetics.
And then there’s nostalgia with a passport: The Band Perry, whose millennial-defining hit “If I Die Young” will likely become a mass sing-along echoing across the riverbank.
The New Folk Generation
Beyond the headliners, LASSO quietly curates the next writers’ round generation artists raised equally on TikTok clips and Townes Van Zandt records.
Names like Waylon Wyatt, Jonah Kagen and Blake Whiten hint at a future where acoustic storytelling lives not in smoky bars, but in algorithm-built communities, a reminder that country’s most traditional element, the song itself, keeps surviving every technological shift thrown at it.
Tickets, Tiers, and the Summer Pilgrimage
For a festival built on accessibility, LASSO still understands the modern fan travels in layers, from lawn-chair lifers to front-row lifers.
Two-day general admission passes begin around $250 CAD, with single-day options starting at $150 CAD, while elevated experiences, Party Deck and Birkenstock Gold, offer upgraded sightlines and breathing room for the marathon weekend. At the top sits the Sky Saloon tier, a full-service vantage point for fans who prefer their twang with a skyline view.
Payment plans through Klarna soften the commitment, while early American Express presales reward the planners. And in a small but meaningful gesture, $1 from every ticket supports music education across Québec, ensuring the next generation doesn’t just attend festivals, but eventually plays them.
In other words: whether you arrive with a blanket, boots, or a VIP wristband, you’re part of the same chorus.
More Than a Festival
What separates LASSO isn’t just its lineup, it’s its atmosphere. Lawn chairs sit beside line dancing. Families share space with bachelor parties. French and English choruses blend mid-hook.
It feels less like a genre event and more like cultural translation happening in real time.
By expanding to a full weekend and donating from every ticket to Québec school music programs, the festival positions itself not just as entertainment but infrastructure, helping grow the audience it already draws.
In a year where country music dominates global charts and streaming playlists alike, Montréal isn’t borrowing the moment anymore.
For one August weekend, it becomes part of the capital.
And if the boots keep coming, it may stay that way.
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