Enjoy the beautiful, summer-like weather this weekend! And don't forget, curfew rolls back from 9:30pm to 8pm on Sunday.
Saturday Night Live closes out the season with actress Carey Mulligan (Oscar-nominated for her role in Promising Young Woman) and musical guest, rapper Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi aka Kid Cudi. Saturday, 11:30pm.
Pointe-a-Calliere Museum has a new show, A Railroad to Dreams, all about trains! As part of the show, the official historian of the STM Benoit Clairoux delivers a talk about the history of the metro and the many challenges encountered during the design and construction of the network, over 50 years ago. Friday at noon, on Facebook. The museum's other new show is Italian Montréal. Drawing on loaned treasures from local families, the show touches on culinary traditions and how first-generation families fared after arriving in the city. A quarter of a million Montrealers count themselves as having roots from Italy!
Pop Montreal launches a series of 'pop-up' concerts, titled 'dans la ruelle' as performers will be playing on the rooftop balcony behind the POP Montreal office in Mile End, streaming straight to you at home. The debut show features Martha Wainwright (who operates Ursa on the ground floor of the building) who will perform music from her upcoming album, and experimental musician Tony Ezzy. This performance will highlight the concern over gentrification in the neighbourhood; organizers say Ezzy himself was recently renovicted from the area. A spokesperson from Mile End Ensemble, a grassroots advocacy group, joins the event. Friday, 7pm.
On the Grand Ole Opry bill: Zach Bryan, Jordan Davis, Runaway June and Matthew West. Saturday, 8:30pm.
Hoping to catch up on the Oscar buzz? Much-touted Nomadland arrives on Disney+ today, and is also playing in theatres. Director Chloe Zhao explores the reality of middle-aged 'nomads' who ditch their roots to chase casual, seasonal work in the United States, through the eyes of gig worker Fern, played by Frances McDormand. (McDrormand enlisted Zhao to work on the project after reading the 2017 book of the same name by journalist Jessica Bruder.)
And with the passing of Prince Philip, some history buffs and royal watchers might want to discover or revisit The Crown. The hit Netflix show covers the Royal Family from when the Queen was still Princess Elizabeth, though of course it's sometimes an unflattering picture, with Prince Philip struggling to find his footing as the man who will always be two steps behind. Matt Smith (Doctor Who) performed the first incarnation, followed by Tobias Menzies (Outlander). And Jonathan Pryce will be taking over when the new season begins filming in a few months.
After 11 seasons, the finale of Shameless drops this weekend. The episode, Father Frank, Full of Grace, closes out the story of the dysfunctional, working-class Gallagher family. Sunday, 9pm on Crave.
A British couple plan to turn a rundown mansion into a hotel - except their inherited property comes complete with spiteful ghosts who dislike change. New comedy Ghosts hits CBC Gem as of Friday.
What I am watching: The Luminaries, a six-part period drama set during a gold rush in colonial New Zealand. Based on Eleanor Cattan's complex, award-winning novel, we follow several characters, one of whom likely murdered prospector Crosbie Wells - but who made off with his bonanza of gold? On Prime. In a HBO documentary series, Cullen Hoback attempts to track down the identity of Q, the mysterious person - or persons - fueling the QAnon conspiracy. There's a light touch at times, but it's undoubtedly macabre, shedding light on the darkest corners of the Interwebs. The sixth and final episode of Q: Into the Storm is now on Crave.
My pal Brian hosts weekly pub quizzes, with a themed quiz Friday at 8:30pm and a music trivia quiz Sunday at 8:30pm. Of course, the Trivia Show with Dan and Ken is Sundays at 9am as always!
Listener Kim sent this in: Need a mother's day gift? Over 50 artisans are taking part in the Centennial Regional High School Virtual Spring Craft Fair, which kicks off Friday. The fair is virtual, so you can browse items on the Fair's Facebook page, then contact the artisans directly for your purchases. Until April 18.
In the Old Port, the Voiles en Voiles adventure park has reopened, archery, aerial circuits and inflatable games. Check out the MTL Zipline and The Observation Wheel, open daily 11am to 7pm. (Each carriage is cleaned after use.)
The Space for Life complex is open, including the Biodome, Botanical Gardens and the Planetarium, but make sure to reserve and buy your ticket in advance.
OASIS immersion is a new, 'touchless', next-level experience on the ground floor of the Palais des congrès. There are 105 laser projector, 119 surround sound speakers and a LED lighting setup. You begin in the Anticipation Room, proceeding through a set of different rooms and wind down in the Decompression Chamber. Current exhibitions include: stepping into the worlds of pianist Alexandra Stréliski, and astronaut David Saint-Jacques's recent trip to space. There is also a tribute to hygge, the Danish tradition of finding coziness in the everyday. Each visit is about 75 minutes.
Support a sugar shack and feast on maple treats by ordering a feast in a box through Ma Cabane à la maison, an initiative to support Quebec's sugar shacks.
Museums are a hot ticket! Visit the McCord for the Dior haute couture show (today is the anniversary of the debut of the New Look!) or the MAC for Des horizons d'attente, its bundle of recently acquired works that address today's sense of malaise. The Museum of Fine Arts presents Riopelle: The Call of Northern Landscapes and other shows.
And if you don't want to leave the house, several museums are still offering virtual shows... including the MAC, which has updated and expanded their sensational exhibit on Leonard Cohen, A Crack in Everything. Cohen gave his bliessing for the show, which features pieces inspired by his life and work, back in 2015, and it went on display around the time of passing in 2017. The show has been enriched for online viewing, available until February 2024. The Louvre has also just put its over 480,000 items online. From the world's most-visited museum, check out the antiquities to Islamic art to medieval decorative arts, to modern sculpture and beyond.
Demi Lovato went from a child performer on Barney & Friends, to Disney Channel starlet to pop icon, but there were more than a few cracks along the way. After a harrowing fall from sobriety and an overdose that nearly took her life, as well as family troubles and mental health struggles, Lovato bares all in a new documentary. Several instalments of Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil are on YouTube, with episode one is here.
And a new documentary promises to change the way you see dogs: Stray is a documentary that brings you down to the level of three stray dogs as they go about their lives in Istanbul. It's a remarkable look at how dogs communicate and organize, even go on adventures.