Summer is winding down in Montreal, but festival season is still in full effect. The Mile Ex End Festival‘s inaugural version has begun, with two days of music in a location you might not expect.
A far cry from Parc Jean Drapeau and its ongoing $70-million facelift, Mile Ex End has decided to set up shop in what was a dirty, dusty space under the Van Horne overpass.
“Location, location, location as they say,” said festival organizer Caroline Johnson. “It’s really a location that is really special and intense and poetic, I think.”
The festival brings two full days of music from noon ’til midnight to the concrete oasis, boasting indie rock royalty like Patrick Watson, Cat Power, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
READ MORE: Van Horne-Rosemont overpass to be demolished and replaced
The location choice creates for some sights not usually seen at an outdoor music festival. Freight trains pass right next to one of the stages every so often, and the main stage is a parking lot surrounded by barbed wire. But it all adds up to an aesthetic that people seem to enjoy.
“I love it, it gives some grit and personality to the festival,” said Tamy Emma Pepin, a local TV host attending the festival. “It’s very Mile-Endish to take advantage of a space that is most of the year unused.”
Mile Ex End organizers are expecting around 5,000 people per day and they say ticket sales have been good.
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They are far from the first festival to use the space — there have been a number of one-off parties there in the past, and the series of Bridge Burner events around a decade ago have quasi-legendary status in certain circles.
“It’s nice to see the space being used on a bigger scale and on a legit scale now,” said Pepin, who attended the sometimes-legal Bridge Burner parties.
Though festivalgoers all seem to love the space, the overpass is slated to be demolished in the next few years. Organizers hope the city takes their time.
“We don’t know. We’re just going with it. Sometimes they say a year, and it takes three years or four years. Maybe they’ll just keep it because the festival is so great!” said organizer Johnson.
The Mile Ex End Festival goes Saturday, Sept. 2, and Sunday, Sept. 3.
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