Solidarity, Inclusion and Community: an interview with Noise Not Borders fest

2026-07-18T12:10:01.000-04:00

Noise Not Borders is an annual fest that takes place in Montreal, Canada. It's also the name of the crew that puts on the fest and works year round to book shows and events around the city. Thanks to Boris, Jose and Piu for taking the time in the busy lead up to the fifth edition of the fest to answer my questions about the history and motivations of Noise Not Borders fest.

It's hard to believe but 2026 will mark the fifth edition of Noise Not Borders fest! What was the original idea behind organizing this fest, and what events or previous experiences motivated its creation?

José: Mostly was me moving to Toronto and finding myself being one of the (at the time) few BIPOC in the punk scene in Toronto. I thought the only way of finding POC punks was to organize a festival where punks could come and play and meet and then create some sort of community. In my years of going to punk shows and festivals I noticed how many friends I had made going to innumerable shows at Varning Fest or Not Dead Yet in Toronto and how quickly was to create these friendships and connections in those scenarios, so it was obvious what I had to do... with inspiration from Latino Punk Fest in NY and the help from all my friends and many many people involved in the punk scene at the time and both Latinx punk scenes from Montreal and Toronto I decided to create "Our Latin Thing," the first (so called) Latinx Punk festival In Canada, featuring international and local bands. Turned out, when putting together there was way many more POC and friends involved in the scene that what I had realized, and also many other non POC friends interested and supportive of my project who were also down to help me putting it together. In that one single first edition I had already created innumerable connections and friendships for myself and many more in within the bands and people involved. At the same time I realized much more how important and necessary was to have this kind of spaces for ourselves and decided to continue with the project. COVID hit and those same friendships brought me to Montréal. I then decided to change the name because I realized how fucked up is to call one self latino and decided to change the name to something broader.

Boris: I traveled to DJ at "Our Latin Thing" and meet my hometown friends from MURO who were playing, along with some other Montreal friends (ESTORBO played as well). I had the impression that Latinx Punx over there was more organized for putting up this fest and thought it was really cool. José then moved to Montreal a couple years after and continued with the fest idea and the name was changed to Noise Not Borders. I started collaborating with NNB at first by contacts and connections with other Punks from the latinx diaspora and eventually joined the collective.

The NNB fest lineup typically features mostly Latino punk bands and bands with BIPOC members, but bands have performed who don’t fit that criteria. I’m curious about what your collective conversations and curation process are like when deciding on the fest lineup?

Boris: The spirit of the fest is to create a space for BIPOC performers—this comes from a place of need that has us underrepresented in hegemonic culture, and this somewhat of course bleeds into our subculture. We want to create a space around this mandate, but we have a space for allies, collaborators and people who are interested in making part of the fest. Of course this changes every time and under specific circumstances. There have been out of town bands coming and looking for a space to play a show and we have accommodated it in our fest. But the main idea of the fest is to create a space and promote bands with racialized people, or with a message that aligns with the politics or mandate of the fest.

Piu: One of the things that interests me most is thinking about what we actually mean when we talk about "borders," and everything that comes with that politically. For me, it would be contradictory to think about identities as something fixed. It's easy to say that we're a festival for Latino or migrant bands, but those identities are much more complex than they seem. For example, saying that someone is Latino doesn't tell you much about their life. Latin America is incredibly diverse. People's experiences are shaped by race, class, gender, sexuality, language, where they come from, and many other factors. The same is true for migration. Two people can both be migrants and have completely different experiences depending on their legal status, economic situation, race, or the reasons why they migrated. That's why I don't think representation should be reduced to checking whether someone belongs to a particular category. Those categories matter, but they shouldn't be the end of the conversation. Otherwise, we risk treating identities as if they were all the same and overlooking the inequalities that also exist within our own communities.

For me, what's exciting about being part of this collective is that we're able to have these conversations together. I don't think we have all the answers, and I actually like that. I'd rather be part of a collective that keeps asking difficult questions about solidarity, inclusion, and community than one that assumes those questions have already been solved.

PEARL and DE RODILLAS at NNB 2025, photos by Shayl Rose Bottle

Outsiders might not realize that Montreal has an incredible trilingual (english, french and spanish) scene, with latino punks playing and singing in some of our sickest local bands (TOTAL NADA, EXTRAÑA HUMANA, A.T.E.R., TENAZ, SISTEMA DE MUERTE, to name just a few!). Other than collective members playing in some of these bands, how does a fest like this contribute to the vitality of the spanish-speaking part of the scene? Do you see a tension or connection between putting a lot of energy into having a fest once a year where we see underrepresented people play in bands versus make sure the scene is ever more racially, culturally and gender-diverse all year round?

Boris: Montreal is a city with a really vibrant and eclectic music scene and the punk scene is just like that. You can count into many cliques, and sub scenes in the city, but it still feels like Noise Not Borders is emerging in the city, raising new concerns about the entwining of our punk scene, and that it's important to keep politics relevant within it. I personally hope people are not just seeing it as another vehicle for entertainment in the roster of the commodification of our subculture, something that very specifically has been happening in the era of social media, influencers, etc.—in order to be able to thrive, we need the support of our allies, the punks, show goers, people in our community.

Piu: The festival is definitely the biggest thing we organize, but it's only one part of what we do. The collective is active throughout the year. We organize benefit shows to help fund the festival, we put on concerts for touring bands—especially Latin American bands coming through Montreal—and we regularly host DJ nights featuring salsa, cumbia, and other Latin American music. All of those events create opportunities for people to meet, collaborate, and strengthen the connections within the scene. Because of that, I don't really see a tension between organizing a yearly festival and working toward a stronger, more diverse, and more connected scene throughout the year. For me, they're part of the same process. The festival creates a moment where all those connections become more visible, but the work of building community continues long before and long after that weekend. We're also still growing as a collective, and I think that's exciting. We're interested in creating more opportunities for community-building—not only through concerts, but also through discussions, cultural activities, and spaces where people can exchange ideas and experiences. Those projects are still taking shape, but they're part of how we imagine the future of Noise Not Borders.

What are your most memorable sets or favourite stories or moments from past editions of the fest?

Boris: I thought it was really cool when the Pinoy punk bands came from the US, NAMATA SA INGAY, MATERIAL SUPPORT, DOG BREATH—and just the opportunity to build friendships and communities beyond borders. It was really cool to see a pan-Arab band like KHASSARAT form up and debut in the city and in the fest. ABISM played their first out of town show in NNB, which was super cool. SALVAJE PUNK was ripping. Seeing MUJERES PODRIDAS and becoming friends with them is invaluable. Playing on several occasions with TOTAL NADA is extremely meaningful. I loved CADENAXO. Being able to bring Latinx punk bands from all over so called Canada is also incredible: DESPERTÁ, MALDITA, DESGRACIADOS, VESTIGIO. We've made a lot of incredible friends and shared amazing memories through music, dance, food, laughs, hehe.

Flyer for the 2025 edition, by Joe BB

Piu: Since I haven't been part of the festival from the beginning, my memories are more personal than historical. The most memorable edition for me was 2023, when I came to Montreal from Mexico to play with my bands, AGRAVIO and DESTRUIDO. I met people who became some of my closest friends, and those connections ended up changing my life in ways I never could have imagined. That weekend I also met my partner, who was playing with A.T.E.R. at the festival. At the time, neither of us could have imagined that a year later I'd be living in Montreal, or that I'd eventually become part of the Noise Not Borders collective. Looking back, it's incredible how much one weekend can change your life. That's probably what I remember most about the festival. Of course, there are amazing bands and great shows, but for me the most meaningful part has always been the relationships that grow out of it. Those connections don't end when the festival is over—they continue throughout the year, and sometimes they end up shaping your life in unexpected ways.

Flyers from the 2023 edition

Noise Not Borders has always stood out as a very political fest. In this moment where violence against migrants and the technological control of borders has surpassed dystopian levels – and, simultaneously where punk and hardcore can sometimes feel totally toothless and commodified – what big and small things do you do to keep the fest political and make sure it stays true to its name?

Piu: Speaking only from my own perspective, I think one of the biggest challenges is making sure that "political" doesn't become just another aesthetic or label. It's easy to say that a festival is political. The harder question is what that actually means in practice. For me, it starts with the way we organize. We're a collective, so decisions are made through discussion, disagreement, and collaboration. It also means thinking carefully about who has access to these spaces, who feels welcome, and what kinds of relationships we're building—not only during the festival, but throughout the year. I also think it's important to stay critical, even of ourselves. The realities of migration, borders, race, and class are constantly changing, and I don't think there's a single formula for addressing them. We have to keep asking questions, listening to each other, and being willing to rethink our own assumptions. Punk has always been about creating alternatives, not waiting for institutions to do it for us. For me, Noise Not Borders is political because it creates spaces where people can meet, organize, and support one another. Sometimes that happens through a concert, sometimes through a benefit show, a DJ night, or simply by helping a touring band find a place to sleep. Those gestures might seem small on their own, but together they build the kind of community that gives the festival its meaning.

What can Noise Not Borders attendees expect at the fest this year?

Piu: Now that the lineup is public, We can finally talk about it! This year's edition feels especially exciting because we're celebrating the festival's fifth anniversary. We have bands coming from Brazil, Mexico, the UK, Spain, different parts of Canada: LASSO from Salvador, Brazil; SOGA and CREMALLERAS from Mexico; LAME from the UK/Spain; JUG from Winnipeg; KRASH from Saskatchewan; ZEAL from Ottawa; and of course a strong lineup of Montreal bands – TRAUMATIC STATE, BASTON, EXTRAÑA HUMANA, ÁREA 9, MIGRACIÓN ANIMAL, HURTA and APÁTRIDAS. On a personal level, I'm especially happy that this is the first time the festival is bringing a band from Brazil—and not just from Brazil, but from Salvador, my hometown. It means a lot to me to see a piece of the city where I grew up become part of Noise Not Borders.

The Counterforce - Noise Not Borders

Solidarity, Inclusion and Community: an interview with Noise Not Borders fest