There Will Be No Heavy Montreal in 2017 :( :( :(
Welp, this is a major bummer: Heavy Montreal, which through the course of its eight years has become one of the biggest and best metal festivals in North America, will be skipping 2017.
The silver lining: Heavy Montreal’s organizers, Evenko, are promising the fest will return in 2018, and they’ve already got dates nailed down to make good on that promise. They’ll also be re-branding the festival Heavy in the City (its second re-banding — many folks still call it Heavy MTL). Perhaps that title will have a more universal appeal to those outside of Quebec?
We’re sure the reasons behind the decision to skip a year are complex and have not all made public, but the ones offered here — renovations at the venue, conflict with the city of Montreal’s 375th anniversary celebration — certainly make sense. And the fact that they’re already thinking about 2018 with concrete details allays any fears that the organizers are covering up something more sinister. Here’s an official statement from Evenko:
evenko announces that Heavy Montréal, the rendezvous of heavy music lovers, will be on hiatus in 2017 in order to return, stronger than ever, on July 28 & 29, 2018 at Parc Jean-Drapeau and on July 27, 2018 with Heavy in the City.
“During the past eight editions of Heavy Montréal, we always focused on the quality of the experience in order to give metal and rock fans a first-rate festival,” said Nick Farkas, Vice-President, Concerts and Events at evenko. “Several factors, including the renovations at Parc Jean-Drapeau and the increase in cultural events during Montréal’s 375th Anniversary, contributed to our decision. We truly believe that a hiatus in 2017 before strongly returning in 2018 will ensure the festival’s sustainability as well as offer festivalgoers an edition that will make them proud.”
While awaiting the return of the festival in July 2018, evenko will continue as always to offer a rich lineup of more than a hundred rock and metal shows a year to fans of heavy music. In the next few months, the Heavy Montréal team will announce several 2017 events that the metal and rock community are sure to enjoy.
Among the major must-see events of 2017, there will be the Montreal date of the Not In This Lifetime tour by the legendary Guns N’ Roses, who will perform at Parc Jean-Drapeau on August 19.
Heavy Montréal and evenko members will have access to a presale starting on Thursday, December 8 at 10 a.m. Tickets will officially go on sale the next day, December 9 at noon.
To purchase tickets and to know everything about upcoming surprises, stay tuned to the calendar of events on www.heavymontreal.com.
Don’t miss the next edition of Heavy Montréal on July 28 & 29, 2018 and Heavy in the City on July 27, 2018!”
As the statement notes, Evenko puts on dozens of amazing concerts all year long for metalheads in and around Montreal to enjoy, so Québécois metalheads will have plenty to look forward to in 2017 anyway. Not the least of which: that GN’R show!! Go see it. It’s fucking amazing, all two-and-a-half-hours of it. Worth every penny!
