Bonne Famille’s festival returns for a successful second edition.
On August 24, Bonne Famille returned with the second edition of its Quai Festif festival. The Montreal collective, known for throwing various events and casual get-togethers, gathered a mix of local DJs, musicians, and clothing and food vendors. Jean Ndiho, one of Bonne Famille’s co-founders, describes the event as “a melting pot of Montreal’s crème de la crème.”
The year’s event was held at the Peel Basin in Griffintown. It kicked off around 5 p.m. with DJ sets from Teray, Gurafiku, Kevin Dave, and Yaya, all of whom provided seamless mixes of various Afrobeats and Caribbean music styles, R&B, Brazilian baile funk, and house music combined.
As the crowd began to grow, the night’s first performance started. Malko, a local singer, took the stage to perform his signature style of R&B, which even contained Jersey Club and baile funk influences. His crowd control was remarkable, with the audience following his lead in singing the refrains to his different tracks. His quality performance easily left attendees wanting more, especially given its brief 15 minute length.
DJ LAX followed, joined by a crew of dancers who impressed the crowd by showing off their moves while beats of dancehall and hip-hop thumped behind them. YKTV played his set next, getting the crowd dancing along to irresistible high-speed shatta rhythms, as well as hip-hop classics. He pulled out all the stops, even busting out choreography throughout his set.
The night’s second performance took place with Aiza, an Afro-pop artist who commanded the crowd with her bold demeanour and remarkable stage presence. Whether it be the infectious basslines in her music, her laser-focused delivery, or her choreography, the crowd was perfectly in tune with her performance, matching her radiant energy.
KidCrayola, founder of the Vibe Benders collective, spoke to The Concordian before getting onstage for her own energetic DJ set: “I don’t have any pre-made sets. I have organized crates based on different styles and ambiances, but then it’s all freestyle—it’s in God’s hands.”
Her chemistry with the crowd was electric, as her combination of R&B hits, dancehall tracks, and shatta had everyone dancing and grooving from front to back, with lines forming of people dancing together. This liveliness is exactly what the Bonne Famille team had in mind while curating the lineup.
“We try to reunite all these energies — afro-centric, reggaeton, house and techno — people are here to dance and have fun,” Ndiho explains.
The second edition of Quai Festif proved to be a success, providing attendees with a lively evening filled with quality entertainment, music, food, and clothing. After filling up and enlivening a dance floor of over 500 people yet again, it looks like a third edition may well be in the cards.
