Every Sunday afternoon from spring through fall, Montrealers gather in a circle on the slopes of Mount Royal and play their djembe, a goblet-shaped West African hand drum.
The Mount Royal tam-tams, named for the drum beats that characterize its soundtrack is a loosely planned gathering which is popular with locals as well as tourists and one of the city’s signature cultural events.
The weekly free festival around the George-Étienne Cartier Monument in Mount Royal Park is one of the most original musical events in Montréal offering music, food, vendors and entertainment and throughout the park.
Origins of the Mount Royal tam-tams remains contested
According to The National Observer, ethnologist Monique Provost, who wrote her doctoral thesis on the history of djembe in Quebec, says the festival could be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
“The event began in 1979 when Don Hill, a now-deceased street musician, plastered signs around town looking for 100 people who played the djembe, ..for a drum circle on Mount Royal.”
While Provost credits Hill, she notes that the mountain in the middle of Montreal had already been a site for “intercultural drum exchanges” before he arrived, with musicians like Michel Seguin, and David Thiaw. Who each claim credit for the Mount Royal tam-tams.