Magazine

Independent, provocative, now! The CJLO Magazine is the resource for features, reviews, and interviews. Established in 2004, and run by dedicated CJLO volunteers, the magazine covers the latest and best in local and international music, art, theatre, film, festivals, and more!


The Encampments: A Cinema Politica Interview

On Monday October 20th, 2025 Cinema Politica will be screening The Encampments at 19H in the SGWH Hall building at Concordia University H-110. The documentary from director Michael T Workman and Ken Pritsker follows the recent campus protests against Isreal’s genocide in Gaza focusing on the two cases from Columbia University. At a time when freedom of speech is policed with such rigour, The Encampments provides a vital opportunity to hear what protesters have to say about Israel, Palestine, and accountability when it comes to how universities and other learning institutions speak and invest their money. 
 

DJ Jazzy Maise takes on Palomosa 2025

Friday

The first thing I noticed after getting through the lax security was the reorientation of the festival grounds. Last year, Palomosa’s premier, the smaller Jardin stage was under the Tois Disques sculpture by blahblah. Instead of dancing under this creative brutalist concrete being, we were in a muddy pit of AstroTurf surrounded by festival bars all selling the same expensive drinks ($10 for a blue PBR is crazy).


Wet Leg Dares It All At Mtelus

All Photo Credit: Ashley Bellam


How Tukan Rewired My Brain

It’s hard to put into words what the TUKAN experience really is, but I’ll try. Let me set the scene. A year and a half ago, during Montreal’s Jazz Fest on July 5, 2024, my friend went to see Berlioz at MTELUS. After the show, she asked the band the classic question: “Where’s the afters?” In what felt like fate, they replied, “We’re going upstairs.” Upstairs was where TUKAN was performing.


Bloom, Baby, Bloom! Wolf Alice Offers An Electric Night at the Beanfield Theatre

It was a gloomy Monday when a line wrapped around the Beanfield Theatre, waiting for Ellie  Rowsell, Joel Amey, Theo Ellis, and Joff Oddie, also known as Wolf Alice, to light up the stage. 


Eleanor The Great: a review

*Warning: reader discretion is advised while reading this article, as the subject matter of death and the holocaust is mentioned often.”

Eleanor The Great  (Currently playing in limited release Cineplex Forum, version originale avec sous-titres français (Cinémathèque québécoise /Montréal, Cinéma Le Clap Ste-Foy/Québec, Le Tapis Rouge/Trois-Rivière,  with a wider release in the coming weeks )

Dir: Scarlett Johansson

Starring: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rita Zohar 

Run Time: 1hr38min 


Genre-Blending Spill Tab at Bar Le Ritz

No artist sounds quite like Spill Tab. The genre-blending songs merge alternative pop with jazz nuances. Claire Chica, the creative force behind these entrancing tracks, is a 28-year-old singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. Born in Thailand, raised in Paris, and now based in LA, she crafts English and French songs layered with energetic rhythms, desire, nostalgia, and angst.


Nourished By Time Ignites Passion at Le Studio TD

This being the first concert I've attended solo, I had no idea what to expect walking into Studio TD last week to see Nourished By Time. Showing up fifteen minutes before showtime to a practically empty room made me feel too visible, too seen. But people pooled in, and it allowed me to observe the demographic and feel present in the room, alone but part of a collective. 


FME 2025: A Review

   “So you got the FME virus and you’re here for the cure,” remarked one of the many volunteers who make the festival possible. That cure? A sonic elixir composed of music, music and more music. Over the four days of Labour Day weekend, August 28th through the 31st, the northern Quebec city of Rouyn-Noranda served as the incubator for the vaccine. So began the twenty-third edition of FME, Festival Music Emergent 2025.    


Frankie Cosmos, Moontype, and Fantasy of a Broken Heart; the perfect show for music lovers

Frankie Cosmos gave Montreal's music lovers a memorable night. On September 16th, at the intimate venue Bar le Ritz, Frankie Cosmos performed with opening bands Moontype and Fantasy of a Broken Heart. I have never attended a concert where every band impressed me so much. With every artist, I felt as if I was discovering a new favourite, as they each showcased unique and impressive musical talents.


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