Over 300 free outdoor shows await at Montreal jazz fest

A breath of fresh air sweeps through the Montreal International Jazz Festival as rising Toronto R&B vocalist Jessie Reyez leads the lineup of more than 300 free outdoor shows.

Winner of this year’s Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, the Toronto-born Colombian-Canadian singer performs the midfest free outdoor blowout, July 3 at 9:30 p.m. on Place des Festivals.

The jazz fest will stretch out again with its event-closing blowout by The War on Drugs, winner of this year’s Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. Announced this week, the atmospheric American indie band’s show wraps things up July 7 at 9:30 p.m. at Place des Festivals.

Around those two events are legions of other shows by artists of wildly diverse musical lineage, from all corners of the planet.

Anchoring the daily programming at 9 and 11 p.m. on the main TD Stage are:

■ Veteran American dance-rock band !!! (Chk Chk Chk), June 28;

■ New York salsa ensemble

■ The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, June 30;

■ Montreal jazz-rap act Nomadic Massive, July 2;

■ The deep soul of Jay-Z protégée

■ Hanna Williams & the Affirmations, July 4;

■Viral New York brass buskers

■ Too Many Zooz, July 5

Electro-punk-reggae act Megative, featuring Gus Van Go of legendary Montreal ska band Me Mom & Morgentaler, and Tim Fletcher of local indie heroes The Stills, July 6.

Other highlights of the free lineup include: famous Canadian jazz drummer Jerry Granelli; soul singer Deva Mahal, daughter of the one and only Taj; former Bran Van 3000 diva Stéphane Moraille; American indie-folk artist M. Ward; McGill jazz crew Le Jaguermalsen with guest Christine Jensen; Austrian Afro-jazz outfit Shake Stew; French jazz pianist Rémi Panossian; Montreal Afrobeat ensemble Papagroove; Snarky Puppy spinoff Ghost Note feat MonoNeon; the New Orleansinspired LowDown Brass Band; Washington funk import Fredy V; Cape Verde’s Elida Almeida; Latin jazz chanteuse Florence K; Haiti’s Lakou Mizik; Congolese-Québécois singer Pierre Kwenders; Montreal bluesman Steve Hill; and hometown jazz-funk-rap improv act Kalmunity.

The 39th Montreal International Jazz Festival runs June 28 to July 7. For more information, visit montrealjazzfest.com.