It was another busy weekend at Igloofest. Saturday sold out before it even started; a fitting end to three full frigid weekends of musical partying. We're sad to see Igloofest head back into hibernatation for another year, but we're thankful for the many great sights and sounds the festival left us. For Shannon Heather's final photo essay, she shares an artistic collection of ice and snow pictures, all drenched in colours and shadows. A la prochaine, Igloofest.

West-coasters Current Swell are not new to Montreal and this time they bring with them British-born Parisian Charlie Winston. Special contributor Shannon Heather caught up with Current Swell's Scott Stanton and David Lang on the road to talk about their new album, the tour and their growth as a band. She also tips us off to how you can win tickets to their show tonight at Theatre Corona.

Igloofest broke more records again this past weekend. Apparently, Saturday night's line up of DJs and musicians brought over 10,000 people down to the old port. That stat becomes a little crazier when you remember it was -20C out. Amazingly, special contributor/photographer Shannon Heather braved the cold to take a few photos and make a few observations of the party. We share them here below to get you primed for the last few days of Igloofest, taking place this weekend.

The first real cold temperatures of the year kept most sane people inside this weekend. But sane people usually miss out on all the fun. Just ask the 19,000 + partiers, revelers of electronic music, and snowsuit dancers who were out for the first weekend of the 6th edition of Igloofest. The fest brings great local and international acts together and turns the old port in a musical winter wonderland. Lucky for us, special contributor/photographer Shannon Heather was there to document the event in all its icy colours and lucky for those of you who missed it, there's still two full weekends left of the festival. Grab your favourite touque and go check it out.

Recently, the New York Times named 2011 "The Year When Rock Just Spun Its Wheels," lamenting a lack of innovation and grit from new and established artists alike. It was a year, they complained, when a Sublime copycat and cover band called Sublime With Rome had at least one hit on the Billboard charts per week from May onward. That's pretty bad. But I say to the Times, and to anyone else who thinks this statistic matters: you are looking in the wrong places. There is more excellent music out there than ever before and more of it is available all over the world than in any previous era. Luckily for Montrealers, a prodigious and probably unfair amount of it is tucked away in our city, ready to hear at a bar or club or loft around the proverbial corner. When I appeared on Icelandic radio this summer, I was asked whether the music scene here was changing. My honest answer was no, it's not changing; it's just getting bigger and better.

Below are 11 reasons why indie music is alive and well and thriving in Montreal. With a few exceptions, these artists represent the city's newest offerings, and all of them rank among the best music I've heard all year. Most of the bands listed here only have an EP, CDR or website to their name. A few released debut LPs in 2011, and a couple garnered coverage from major music media outlets like Pitchfork and NPR. Listeners of our Montreal Weekend Playlist Podcast will be familiar with most of them. On the whole, though, this list could double as "bands to watch in 2012," since most of them have only revealed a small part of what they have to offer. Thanks to artists like these, it's an exciting time to be here.

Last night Sarah Slean took over La Sala Rossa with the pop version of her back-up band. "J'adore Montreal," she cooed to the crowd in a theatrical French accent. Actually she cooed theatrically all evening, not just when expressing how much she loved the city. While the show was a pretty good representation of the pop side of her recently released double album Land & Sea (half pop tunes and half lush, orchestral numbers), it was worth seeing her live to hear her story-length imaginings/meanderings/introductions to each song. Over the course of the evening the audience traveled from cocktails parties, to highschool where girls bicker too much, to a Parisian balcony staring at the stars that decorated the sky as though "God had spilled the salt."