September 12, 2026
Face To Face headlined the final day of Music 4 Cancer
Let’s face it, Music 4 Cancer is my favorite festival by far. The impact every year can be reflected in the families and attendees it reaches personally. Equally supporting this journey with Music 4 Cancer since the beginning, and proud to stand with the cause.
Though I was now running on a few hours of sleep from the excitement of witnessing Bad Religion play yesterday. I was ready for the final day of Music 4 Cancer. It’s a nice time out of the big city, indulging in the punk rockers making their pilgrimage to take over this small town. Businesses have become accepting and incorporated into such a good cause. The families and volunteers work in great symbiosis to make things work as they should, and without that I don’t think we’d have the same caliber of care here.
See Also: Music 4 Cancer 2026: Bad Religion
Took me a while to get to fully catch some sets in the early afternoon. I was checking out the vendors and all the causes more and figuring out a way to charge my phone since my space brain hadn’t fully charged it. Dirty Cheetah, The Lookout, Killing Daisies and Make War seem to garner a good amount of people watching as Mother Nature gave us a perfect weekend.
The Matchup, a local acoustic duo from St. Therese are regulars of this festival. So they decided to pull out all the stops today by shooting a music video during their set. It featured all the kids present who were brave enough to jump offstage and do some kid-friendly crowd surfing. I’d indulge to say it was their first experience, a lot of these kids were already versed in surfing – specifically getting their training at this unique all ages event. So that lasted as long as our arms could hold them up safely, but they just kept trying to do more. With a playful atmosphere of smoke bubbles and giant inflatables all around creating quite a magical moment. And that would be the last time we’d recognize Rat and Burger in a crowd. They put themselves on the chopping block- their hair that is- for the shave-a-thon to raise money for the cause, we were all here for. Alongside with a few brave kids who took the challenge as well.
The Fair Do’s, a band visiting us from Manchester, had gained a crowd early enough. Their brand of melodic metal skate punk fit the festival’s theme this year, so they made sense on the lineup. I enjoyed their energy; singer Danny Cummings connected with the crowd and got a good reaction. I say that because, as big as the festival is, by day two the energy levels are usually teetering on low before the main band comes on. Since a majority of the crowd is older or with kids and in need of somewhere to sit eventually.
Death By Stereo seemed to be the band to catch today. It took me looking through old concert flyers to put into perspective how many times I’ve seen them open, on some great tours. Such as with Sick of it All, no doubt they paid and played their respects to Lou Koller. Another gone too soon. If you hadn’t caught the singer Effram Shultz in this band you might recognize him from his time in Voodoo Glow Skulls. A nice surprise as they brought out the sax player to pick up the pit for a song. The only other recognizable OG member was English guitarist Dan Palmer with his curly cue moustache. I was at the twenty-twenty-four edition where Death By Stereo played and it was much rougher and a later set. This was at a happy sunset hour just before a run for food. You could smell the poutine sauce wafting through the air.
If you haven’t heard of the antics of the band Guttermouth, and this was your first time seeing them. You may be walking away with thoughts such as “What the fuck did I just watch?” And if you aren’t new, well, that folks was a whole new level of what the fuck. When I heard the rumors just a few hours before they were about to hit the stage, that they weren’t even in or near the city. I was about to start taking bets we wouldn’t see them until later than scheduled, if at all. Mark, the most outgoing frontman of the band, decided to play the sister festival, Envol Et Macadam in Quebec City first, then drive about four hours to hit the stage before us.
By a punk rock miracle, they made their set on time. I believe Mark left something behind, his voice. He had warned out his vocal chords early in the day but still showed up more inebriated than before, impossible to tell. I think the only circumstances that would stop him is if he was arrested and locked up for his extracurricular activities. Stripping, while items of clothing were exchanged with fans who climbed onstage quite easily. Intentionally put on the smaller side stage for Mark’s general safety? Most likely. Last time Guttermouth played this festival he completely disappeared under the stage for hide and sing. Kids were surfing to and participating in this level of chaos as the rest of us helped him sing the lyrics. By that time, a lot of pit dwellers feeding off their energy and were just climbing peoples heads to get to the stage. Probably the most crazy it got for one band over the course of this weekend. And he didn’t break something besides the voice.
I’m always excited to see Face To Face play, and it had been a really long hiatus of shows in Montreal since I had seen them. With a nice warm-up from Punk Rock Tribute to 1994, The crowd was already pretty eager and a bit aggressive in some areas for songs that really weren’t that fast. I got knocked down at some point by someone running from the back and just clear-cutting the middle. Was instantly helped up without injury. I guess they had all that pent-up energy of not seeing the band play for a chunk of years. I was going a little crazy singing the songs myself. Singer Trevor Keith sounded great, and the band was on fire. Rocking through the hits off their self-titled album, celebrating its thirty-year anniversary. Kids on parents shoulders were more concentrated on the mascot of the festival surfing and the giant inflatable beach balls not hitting them. It was so much fun that it really didn’t feel like a ninety minute set. They could have just kept playing if it wasn’t for a town curfew.
Face To Face were brilliant.
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The after parties were equipped for the continuation as the night wrapped up. Always trust that when your told that life flies by too fast, it’s the truth .This festival makes you slow down, puts those little things into perspective that matter most and reminds you cherish the moments you have with the people you have. Life’s not guaranteed but this festival is and for some, it’s everything.
Big thanks to The Epinat family, friends and volunteers that make it all happen
