Saturday night was the 11th edition of Bunker Base: A refuge for Art and Music , and we were able to discover two artists and a Montreal band we’d never heard of – and as a result, we’re obsessed.
The venue was Kawalees, an Arab cultural cabaret for contemporary art with a giant disco ball, old-fashioned round tables and a stage at the back.
The atmosphere is almost family-like, incredibly benevolent and we’re in a small group – albeit with old-timers who’ve known each other for a long time, artists discussing their next play between performances, and neophytes like me who are just discovering and immediately feel at home.
Jad, the organizer, a multidisciplinary designer who sings with the voice of an angel, runs around, laughs with everyone, and mics between performers.
This is the 11th edition of his Bunker Base, and we’ve already put the next one on our agenda: it’s on May 31.
Discovering new artists
Tonight, three artists perform under the white and blue lights of Kawalees.
The first is Jad himself, singing and playing guitar, with an extremely touching song for the widows of Gaza. He’s got big, soft eyes, and it’s around him that an atmosphere of emotional, sympathetic listening is formed.
The second is Big Daddy Queen Power, a Montreal songwriter with a goosebump-inducing voice, a heart-shaped pink guitar and a crystalline laugh when the slightly shy audience responds half-heartedly when she asks if we’re having a good time. She sings of war, of friends who’ve left her, of loneliness during the pandemic, of exes she wishes well.
And finally, it’s the band OAKS who close the evening with a saccharine half-mods,half-90s pop that moves from bop to the slightly sad ballad of summer love.
We’ll soon be following these artists and listening to them on Spotify, and leaving the event with a head full of music and a lighter heart-in a big city where we don’t always feel we’re allowed to express our angst and passionate emotions, Bunker Base is a breath of fresh air.
What’s more, as usual, we’ll be able to say that Montreal’s emerging talents were practically discovered by us – obviously.
See you May 31 at the next Bunker Base!