Divan Orange Rises Again for POP Montreal
The legendary St-Laurent venue reopens for three special shows in September, headlined by Plants and Animals.
One of Montreal's most storied music venues is coming back. Divan Orange, the beloved bar at 4234 St-Laurent Boulevard that shaped a generation of local musicians, will reopen for three nights this September as part of POP Montreal's 25th anniversary festival.
The venue closed years ago, but the pull of nostalgia and the city's appetite for live music proved too strong to ignore. Plants and Animals anchor the lineup—a band that itself emerged from Montreal's indie scene and played countless shows on that very stage. The festival, running Sept. 23–27, has lined up additional acts across the three nights, each one either born from or shaped by the neighborhood's music history.
What makes this reopening more than just a throwback: attendees get a signed copy of Rachel Reid's hardcover novel Heated Rivalry (in English or French) with their ticket. There's also a Q&A with the novel's score composer, Peter Peter, connecting music, literature, and the city's creative community in one night.
For anyone who ever caught a band in that cramped, sticky-floored room or heard stories about legendary sets that went late into the night, this is the kind of moment that reminds you why this city's live music scene still matters. A venue's return isn't just nostalgia—it's proof that great spaces don't really close, they just wait.