Is this what going out to dance looks like now?

The photos and videos don't lie: parasols and ponytails, DJs in soccer kits, iced matcha in one hand and a croissant in the other. Croissound x Royalmount may not have set out to be some grandiose thesis on where Montreal’s social scene is headed—or what we’re leaving behind—but you only need to take a look:

Held July 12 in the urban park at Royalmount, the latest (and largest) session for the daytime DJs of Croissound drew thousands of people.

“We had counters at the gates, and I think we easily hit around 3,000 people. It was our biggest party yet,” says Croissound co-organizer Lisa Rey.

“Everything came together—people were so happy. The heat was the hardest part, but honestly, it went really, really well. It was our first time doing something fully outdoors, and the energy was amazing.”

That’s 3,000 bodies moving to deep house in over 30-degree heat, framed by striped bunting, bold murals, and a signature orange-and-white palette. There were no booze-fuelled meltdowns, obviously no bleary-eyed 3 a.m. exits—just good coffee, clean fits, and serotonin by the bucket.

Making the conventional more unconventional

Croissound started small: DJ sets in cafés, a lot of friends, maybe a dog or two. But something about the format—a morning party with café energy and club-level curation—clicked. One could chalk this up to novelty, but it seems to be more about timing.

Across Montreal, and much of Canada, a not-so-quiet shift is underway. Call it “daylife,” call it the death of nightlife—either way, the shift is visible: Bars are closing, alcohol consumption is dipping, rent is up, hangovers maybe hit harder. Most people just don’t want to spend their Friday nights queued up outside a basement venue anymore. They want to move, connect, and still be home in time to walk the dog.

Daytime parties like Croissound, Tech-Noon in Toronto, and Home By Midnight in Vancouver are filling the gap. They’re reclaiming dance culture from exhaustion and excess, and making conventional unconventional, where malls and cafés will become as socially active as a bar on a Saturday night in the 2000s.

Back to the party

The soundtrack this time came courtesy of Georges Ghazal (@flonko_) and Bassil Sawaya (@bissooooooooooo), two DJs whose sunlit sets were dialled in for a crowd still warming up their limbs and getting their second wind before noon.

And that crowd? Surprisingly intergenerational. Sure, there were plenty of stylish 20-somethings in wraparound sunglasses, but also young parents pushing strollers, friend groups from every corner of the city, and solo dancers just happy to move. It felt more like a community picnic with a bassline than a nightclub.

Hosting that kind of moment at Royalmount, a development still best known for its luxury retail footprint, could have been seen as a risk. But it worked. The park’s design—with its amphitheatre-style stage and clean sightlines, shaded seating, and open lawn—flowed naturally with the crowd. Public art installations bordered the dancefloor, and polished storefronts became accidental mirrors that'd reflect bodies mid-spin.

Royalmount is betting large on cultural programming, and its first event of the summer proved to be a hit.

Same high, new frequency

This collision between grassroots energy and a polished city-built stage points to how a local cultural movement isn't losing its charm by scaling up, and the size helps prove that this represents a shift in how Montreal parties.

To be clear, it’s not about giving up nightlife. No one’s saying that dance floors should disappear, or that 2 a.m. can’t still be sacred. It’s just that, for a growing number of people, the old model—$14 vodka sodas, fighting for 3x priced Ubers at closing time, stumbling into a salty, greasy food at 3 a.m.—doesn’t carry the same appeal. The Croissound model? Iced espresso in hand, sun on your face, still clear-headed enough to make plans after. Same high, new frequency.

For Royalmount, this was just another day in a busy season of cultural programming: concerts, art activations, and open-air moments designed to make the 77,000 sq. ft. urban park more than just a design feature. Croissound may have been the season’s first major pulse check, but it’s just one part of a larger summer rollout with art walks, family workshops, and more music on deck in the weeks ahead.

For Croissound, it was proof that morning parties can scale without losing their soul.

And for the rest of us? A reminder that the best parties might be kicking off before lunchtime for the perceivable future.

Finally, you might be hearing it here first: “Yes, I am announcing the next one—our next party is August 3rd at the National Bank Open. It’s going to take over two tennis courts at Jarry Park," Rey from Croissound tells us.