Aya Nakamura (born Aya Coco Danioko) is a French and Malian singer-songwriter who was born in Bamako, Mali. Her family moved to France when she was a child, and she grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a Northern suburb of Paris. Her love for music stems from her family's ancestral traditions coming from Griots, West African as praise singers, poets and storytellers. Her mother was a traditional Malian singer, so it's no coincidence that Aya exhibited a deep love for singing and creating music.

At L’Olympia on October 23, 2026, the atmosphere surrounding Sienna Spiro’s first Montreal show felt like a gathering of girls who had found something of themselves in the same songs. The crowd was fittingly dressed in polka dots and carefully styled updos that mirrored Sienna’s own signature style.

Martha Wainwright is a Canadian singer-songwriter based out of Montreal. She is part of the McGarrigle/Wainwright clan of acclaimed musicians. Her mother and aunt were Kate and Anna McGarrigle of the McGarigle sisters duo, her father was folk singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, and her brother is singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. Martha began her career in 1997, and has released seven acclaimed studio albums. Her most popular album–her eponymous debut–celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. She remains a prominent member of the Montreal local scene.

As the October nights shift drearier and drearier, and the slow chill of Montreal’s annual winter apocalypse comes creeping up my spine, I am often drawn closer to my Fairmount street hovel on a night out. I am much less inclined to make my way down to L’Esco if it means I’ll actually have to use their migraine-inducing coatrack system; you’ll rarely catch me shivering outside Sala for a smoke break in sub-10 degrees; and the beautiful sprawl of outdoor venues gets shuttered and abandoned, replaced by preppy snowsuit ravers at Igloofest (not my scene). Alongside this quasi-hibernation comes my hankering for hip-hop. Once I get a jacket and a hoodie on, a craving for punchy kicks and drumless loops runs through my veins - it's inevitable.