The 11th-ever Suoni Per Il Popolo festival, one of Montreal's best selections of loose, brave, wild, weird, wrecked and jubilant musical acts, began yesterday. It goes until June 25. It's wonderful and too many song-loving locals don't take advantage enough. For me, there is not a better chance in Montreal's four seasons to get your mind blown by something completely unknown. Free jazz, free folk, noise, contemporary classical, musique actuelle, weird punk and electronics - stuff that can be pushed to the fringes, brought out & up & together by Suoni's marvellous curators. Last year, I interviewed the festival founders. This year I just want to point out some highlights.

All tickets cost less in advance. Almost all shows at either Sala Rossa or Casa del Popolo, which are across the street from one-another. Browse the full Suoni schedule.

Top three:

1. OMAR SOULEYMAN and AroarA
My highlight of the festival. When Souleyman played here last year, it was one of the concerts of the year: everyone, across all lines, dancing like dumb animals to Souleyman's insane dance music, synth-lines twisting like fucked astral snakes, him cool as cuke and striding. That was a free, giant outdoor gig downtown. This is a concert in the small room of Sala Rossa. It is going to be ludicrous. Opening are AroarA, the new project by Broken Social Scene's Andrew Whiteman and his partner Ariel Engle, v hotly tipped. 13 June, and buy tickets in advance. [8:30/$20]

2. SATOKO FUJII MA-DO
Quartet led by Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii. Contemporary jazz from Tokyo that lifts from avant-rock, traditional Japanese folk and contemporary classical. (Or so the program tells me.) Sounds so great. 19 June. [8pm/$22]

3. COLIN STETSON and HANGEDUP
Saxophonist Colin Stetson may have recorded the best album of this year. Live, he is a technical wonder - but fuck that, listen close, and he'll leave you in devastation. Hangedup are an amazing post-rock duo that died and have been reborn. I saw them again this winter and was thrilled by the experience. Melodies that feel old, raucously rawked, by just viola and drumkit. 17 June. [8:30/$12]

Other wonderments:

GLENN JONES
A master of folk guitar, in the tradition of John Fahey and Jack Rose, performing at Sala on June 6 [8:30/$12] and doing a free workshop at 1pm that afternoon (not June 7, as in program).

VERTIGO
Music from the Hitchcock film, performed by "the Lost Orchestra", ft members of Godspeed, the Luyas, Silver Mt Zion, Land of Kush, Besnard Lakes, &c &c, on strings, woodwinds, brass, wurlitzer, guitar and drumset. Tomorrow, Tues June 7 [8:00/$15].

JERUSALEM IN MY HEART
New work from Radwan Moumneh with Malena Szlam. Radwan is a showman & provocateur; it's never clear what he will do with his roiling Arabic psych. (He promises 16mm film projections.) June 15, free.

MOLLY SWEENEY
Featured on StG in December, a ghostly folk-singer launching her debut album tonight, June 6 [8pm/$12].

CHARLES GAYLE
Tenor sax by a free jazz pioneer. Sensitive & damn prickly. The Wire says piercing cries, gut-centred bellows, and melody-shredding phraseology. On Wed 8 June [8:30/$12].

TONSTARTSBANDHT and GRIMES
Grimes' chillwave skirts Elizabeth Fraser and Vangelis, with a touch of Twin Peaks; Tonstartsbandht make some of the best loud music in this hemisphere. 9 June [8:30/$8]

KEIJI HAINO
When I lived in Scotland, Heino played Glasgow's Instal festival more than once. People talked about it with saucer-sized eyes. It was, they said, the loudest thing that they had ever heard. Haino plays guitar. This is on 10 June. [8:30/$20]

MECCA NORMAL
Canadian legends, weird and determined, reduced and clever. Seriously just listen to "Ice Flows Aweigh", sour and true, which Jordan wrote about six years ago. Afternoon gig on 11 June. [2pm / $8]

PARLOVR and MAVO and MOZART'S SISTER
Three of Montreal's best emerging indie kids; all have been hailed on StG. Parlovr play spiky rock music, on guitars. Mavo are a bit touger, but slouching and goofed. Mozart's Sister is a one-woman heatwave, with smoke in her eyes. This will be fun on 16 June. [8:30/$8]

LICHENS and SOFT CIRCLE
Drone and loop, like a doomed forest. Listen. Soft Circle is the solo project of a guy who used to be in the beautiful noise band Black Dice. June 19. [8:30/$12]

ERIC CHENAUX and O PAON
I love Eric Chenaux, a Ratdrifter who is kindred with Sandro Perri and Ryan Driver, whose music we have often written about. Uncanny, soft-voiced folk, part free-jazz and part easy listening. Just extraordinary & beautiful. Opening is Genevieve Castrée, aka O Paon, a Quebecoise singer and artist who has recorded with Phil Elverum, makes gnarled heartbroken music. 20 June. [8:30/$12]

WYRD FEST MTL
Wyrd Fest is the amazing all-night June 20 festival organised by Weird Canada, the country's best blog for home-grown loud-and-out music. I trust them. This will be amazing. But, apart from Dirty Beaches [cool!] and D'Eon, I know these ten (!) bands only from Weird Canada's own site. Explore. [7pm/$12, a crazy bargain]

FULL BLAST TRIO
Peter Brotzmann with a grindcore band? I think this will be a little like getting shot in the head. 22 June [7pm/$20]

STRANGE BOYS and SIC ALPS
Noisy rock music from two good bands. 22 June [8:30/$17]

CHAD VANGAALEN and NAT BALDWIN and ADAM & THE AMETHYSTS
Chad Vangaalen has been rightly celebrated for his gorgeous acid-dropped pop-folk nonsenses. Nat Baldwin, a Gramophone fave, Dirty Projector, makes unhinged post-pop with his double-bass. And Adam & the Amethysts are the city's best psychedelic folk band, making heartfelt, out-spinning songs. Amazing line-up. 23 June [8:30/$15].