Patrick Watson Becomes the First Montrealer to Win the Montreal Jazz Festival's Spirit Award Since Leonard Cohen

Patrick Watson just received a major distinction from the world's biggest jazz festival. This morning (July 2), Patrick Watson was honoured with the 2026 Spirit Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. The award celebrates the quality and innovation of an artist’s work, as well as their decisive influence on international popular music as a whole. He becomes the first Montrealer to win the award since Leonard Cohen in 2008. Montreal mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada presented Watson with the award during a private ceremony in downtown Montreal and shared an anecdote about seeing him perform in a small Mile End venue for an intimate crowd of 50 to 60 people. "For more than 20 years, Patrick has invited us into a musical world that is uniquely his own: intimate, imaginative, creative and deeply moving," the mayor explained. "From the very first notes, we recognize his unmistakeable signature, a voice of poetry in a mystical language unlike any other. Patrick has forged his own path, pushing the boundaries of contemporary music and connecting with audiences across the globe." Martinez Ferrada thanked Watson for remaining deeply rooted and connected to his home as his music has continued to take him across borders worldwide. It's global success story which he then credited to the city's unparalleled uniqueness. "The only way to make it places was to be extremely original, or you were not in allowed in the room," Watson shared in his address. "That was thanks to a lot of bands like [Godspeed! You Black Emperor] who had set that kind of tone to the city. I was very lucky to join a city with such a huge importance on being original and finding your way. This city is a gift to be apart of and I'm very honoured and proud to be here every day. Thank you for this awesome present." Patrick Watson also sat down for a discussion and Q&A with the Montreal International Jazz Festival's co-founder André Ménard to discuss working on his upcoming headline show at the festival tomorrow night (July 3), the significance of including it on his world tour and his history performing at the festival and in Quebec in general. Watson spoke about the international appeal of his music when asked about Harry Styles recently covering his tracks "Here Comes the River" and "Hommage" during an intimate headline set at Meltdown Festival in London. The singer-songwriter also gave a nod to Billie Eilish for performing a piano cover of "Lighthouse" during her Where Do We Go? arena tour back in 2020. "I really like it when it participates in the world in that way, it's a huge honour. Obviously, it's pretty fun if Harry Styles sings your song. I'm very honoured when anybody [covers my music]," Watson explained. The singer-songwriter continues to be one of the most influential voices in Canadian music. In 2024, his viral song "Je te laisserai des mots" became the first-ever French-language song to reach a billion streams on Spotify , and it saw another surge the following year after being featured in the Season 3 finale of The Summer I Turned Pretty . "He's understated in a way. He's 20+ years into a career that we've built brick by brick. It's not the norm in terms of how things go, but [it works] because he sticks to what he loves, does things his own way. He's got big ideas, a big vision, and it's been a really amazing ride because of that," shared Watson's manager Justin West, president and CEO of Secret City Records, back in March in his Executive of the Week interview with Billboard Canada . Watson headlines the TD Stage at the Montreal International Jazz Festival with a free show at 9:30 pm tomorrow night.