Montreal Jazz Festival 1995

First hand experiences of the Montreal Jazz Festival as recounted by Peter Moore of The International Blues Band.

“This summer The International Blues Band was invited to play two dates at the annual Montreal Jazz Festival. This posed us a few problems as flights were not included. At first we tried for sponsorship to no avail – then we ran our own benefit night which raised about one third of our fare. Our friendly Bank Manager provided the rest.

Arriving in Montreal two days before the gigs allowed us time to soak in the vibes “man”. There were seven or eight huge stages and one main stage. We saw a 50-piece band with a gospel choir and the sound was perfect.

It’s gig time – we were picked up at the hotel and driven to our first date, a serious stage overlooking a park with 20,000 curious faces waiting to see an Irish blues band. The stage manager told us we had doubled the usual attendance.

We played for an hour – it seemed like a second – we rocked the place evidently. We then went to play the Spectrum, an old cinema transformed into one of the best venues we’ve ever played. We had a ball, then somebody handed me a towel and a beer – next year Chicago Blues Festival pleeeeze!!!!”

by Peter Moore, The International Blues Band, 1995