Can’t-miss Montréal concerts heading into 2026

Fall concerts

Road warrior

If we tried to list even a fraction of the accolades Pickering, Ontario pop-star Shawn Mendes has racked up in the last decade, we’d be here for the rest of the day. The fact that it’s only been 10 years since the singer, songwriter and musician got his start at the age of 16 is a wonder unto itself. Now Mendes is embarking on his On the Road Again tour, which will feature a five-album, career-spanning set celebrating his biggest hits from the very beginning right up to his latest release, Shawn. The road reaches the Bell Centre on October 1.

Por primera vez en Montréal! 

Yes, you read that correctly: Mexican pop-rock superstars Maná will perform for the very first time in Montréal this fall. Formed in 1981, and with influences that run the gamut from prog rock to calypso, reggae and ska, Maná are the most successful Latin American band of all time having sold over 45 million albums. Fun fact: in November 2025, the band will break the record for most arena shows performed in Los Angeles history with a total of 44 concerts (previously held by Bruce Springsteen at 42 concerts). Their Vivir Sin Aire Tour fires up the Bell Centre on October 3. 

The summer of ’69 meets the fall of ’25

Canadian rock icon Bryan Adams has taken it on the chin more than a couple of times throughout a 45-year solo career, but he’s never lost any of his trademark fight. It’s fitting then that Adams — ranked 48th on the Billboard Hot 100’s list of all-time top artists — is about to embark on his massive Roll with the Punches tour, named for his 17th studio album. Classic-rock revivalists The Sheepdogs will open at the Bell Centre on October 8.

The Mumfords re-emerge

British folk rock juggernaut Mumford & Sons break a lengthy period of relative silence with their just-released, seven-years-in-the-making full-length, Rushmere. The album is named for the Wimbledon Common Pub where “it all began,” and sees the mega-group performing as a trio after guitarist/banjoist Winston Marshall’s exit from the band in 2021. The Mumford & Sons Rushmere tour will folk up the Bell Centre on October 17 with British singer/songwriter Michael Kiwanuka warming things up.

It was only a matter of time

Grammy-winning Icelandic singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Laufey’s rapid ascent has actually been a long time coming. Listed as one of Time’s Women of the Year for 2025, the 26-year-old jazz pop artist was performing as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15. Credited with bringing jazz to Gen Z, a dollar from each ticket sold on her new “A Matter of Time” tour (named for her latest album) will go to the Laufey Foundation supporting young musicians. Laufey, with opening act Suki Waterhouse, performs at Place Bell in Laval on October 21. 

The last tour? We doubt it

French-Congolese singer/rapper GIMS rose to fame as a member of the French hip-hop group Sexion d’Assaut in the late 2010s before moving on to a triumphant solo career, becoming the first French rapper to fill the Stade de France in 2019. Le Dernier Tour is a celebration of GIMS’ musical career from his early days with Sexion d’Assaut to his solo successes, and he brings it to the Bell Centre on October 24.

A timeless 30-year-old

It’s hard to believe that it’s been three decades since much-loved Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan released her breakout album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, but the numbers don’t lie. Now the Lilith Fair founder is announcing the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30^th Anniversary Tour, which will see McLachlan playing the entirety of the album in addition to other hits over two nights at Salle-Wilfrid Pelletier, Place des Arts, October 29 and 30. Vocal trio and TikTok darlings Tiny Habits will open.

A living Legend 

It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since John Legend blew onto the R&B scene with a sophisticated mix of neo-soul, hip-hop and pop on his debut album, Get Lifted. The recording garnered eight Grammy nominations and won three Grammy Awards. Now, backed by his full band, Legend’s Get Lifted 20th Anniversary World Tour will showcase a setlist celebrating the entirety of the album as well as other career-spanning hits. Take in this legend-in-the-making when he warms up Place Bell, Laval on November 14. 

Band on the run

The word “icon” isn’t nearly as monumental as it needs to be to describe Paul McCartney (who, in reality, needs no description at all). We’re going to have to invent a new word. The mind behind one of the most expansive, multi-generational and above all beloved music catalogues of all time will bring his Got Back 2025 tour to Montréal this fall. Expect classics like Hey Jude, Live and Let Die, Band on the Run, Let It Be and dozens more from McCartney’s solo, Wings and, of course, Beatles songbooks when he performs two shows at the Bell Centre, November 17 and 18.

Burnin’ down tha house

The first Nigerian artist to headline stadiums in the U.S. and the U.K., singer/songwriter/producer Burna Boy has hit the afterburners on his already rapid ascent. And he collects best international artist awards like other people collect baseball cards. Insanely infectious afrobeat, dancehall and reggae are his M.O., and he returns to the Bell Centre for his No Sign of Weakness Tour — featuring a 360-degree stage in the middle of the floor — on December 15.

Concerts in 2026

A diamond mine of music

Alt-country rockers Blue Rodeo have always managed to swim against the current, racking up reams of radio play with songs like Try, After the Rain and Diamond Mine at a time when grunge and other music genres were the prevailing flavours of the day. Now the Canadian Walk of Fame, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees (it doesn’t get more Canadian than that, eh?) are embarking on their Lost Together – The 40th Anniversary Tour. Special guest Adam Baldwin will open when the tour pulls into Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts on January 17, 2026.

Alive and kicking

Nineties alt-rock gets its due when multi-platinum band +LIVE+ headline their first Canadian cross-country tour in over 20 years in celebration of the 35th anniversary of their 1991 hit album Mental Jewelry. Sweetening the deal, longstanding Canadian/American group Big Wreck will join them on the Like a Rollin’ Thunder Tour 2026, while popular Montréal rockers The Damn Truth will set the tone at Place Bell in Laval on March 10, 2026.

“Mayhem” may be an understatement

Lady Gaga’s popularity appears to have no upper reaches. In Rio de Janeiro during May 2025, her free show at Copacabana Beach drew an estimated 2.5 million fans, setting a new record for the highest-attended concert by a female artist in history. And her eighth and latest studio album, Mayhem, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it her seventh consecutive number one solo album. Montrealers will get their chance to go goo goo for Gaga when she rolls her rave-reviewed Mayhem Ball tour into the Bell Centre on April 2 and 3, 2026.

Get ready for some wicked shows

Quiz time: Who has over 115 billion global streams, 70 million albums sold worldwide, the most billion-streamed songs in Spotify history, is the artist with the most number 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 this decade (seven), and starred in the blockbuster film Wicked, which became the highest-grossing Broadway musical adaptation in box office history? It can only be Ariana Grande, who will bring her new Eternal Sunshine Tour to the Bell Centre for two nights, July 28 and 30, in 2026.