Things to do in Montréal this week: October 11–17

This week the weather makes the plan for you. Sunday breaks overcast but dry—get outside. Then rain moves in hard Monday through Wednesday, easing Thursday before another soaking Friday and Saturday. You're looking at one clear evening for patios and walking, then pivoting indoors for the rest. Dress in layers and accept that the métro will smell like wet wool for seven days straight.

Start Sunday at Parc Jean-Drapeau with Beltran at 4:00 PM if you want a low-key afternoon set, but the real draw that night is Dadi Freyr at MTELUS at 8:00 PM. Daði Freyr Pétursson, the Icelandic frontman who nearly represented Iceland at Eurovision 2020 before COVID cancelled the whole show, brings polished indie-pop that does not require you to understand Icelandic to feel it move. He's played bigger stages and this is your shot to see him in an intimate room. Book it.

Monday night, when the rain starts, head to Le Foufounes Electriques at 8:00 PM for Andrew Jackson Jihad, a folk-punk band from Phoenix whose lyrics wade into poverty, addiction, and existentialism with a spare, honest sound—the kind of music that hits harder when the city is wet and you're packed shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers who get it. Tuesday evening at Le Balcon, Jazz Sessions au Balcon at 7:00 PM offers a dry, warm room and live improvisation; ideal for a 5 à 7 before heading home in the rain.

Wednesday stays damp. Thursday clears slightly—overcast but the rain drops to barely a whisper. That evening, if you're willing to drive to Brossard (about 12 km south), Louis-José Houde plays Théâtre Manuvie at 8:00 PM. Houde, the Québécois actor and comedian from Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Menteur, is a reliably sharp choice if you want comedy over music.

Thursday also brings Cradle of Filth to Théâtre Beanfield at 7:00 PM—the English extreme metal band whose sound evolved from black metal into a gothic, symphonic hybrid. Not for everyone, but their technical command is real.

Friday and Saturday are wet again, but the shows keep coming. Big D and the Kids Table, the Boston ska-punk outfit, plays two sets at Newspeak October 16–17; they've been at this since 1995 and know how to move a floor despite the drizzle outside. Saturday night at Fairmount Theatre, cleopatrick—a Canadian rock duo from Cobourg, Ontario—closes the week at 8:00 PM with the kind of energy that cuts through rainy-October blues.

Between shows, stay warm. Tiramisu Saint-Laurent on the Main serves solid Italian comfort food—ideal before or after a rainy evening out. If the budget stretches and Thursday clears enough for a proper meal, Maggie Oakes in Westmount does bar and grill well. La Medusa rounds out the Italian options if you want to stay in the same lane.

If you have one night this week, make it Sunday at MTELUS for Dadi Freyr—the only evening the weather genuinely cooperates, and one of the few shows that will draw a real crowd.