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Fifteen years ago this Sept. 14, a buzzed-about but relatively unknown Montreal band named Arcade Fire released their debut album, Funeral. Not only did the group become overnight stars thanks to the album’s success, their hometown suddenly became the centre of the indie rock universe.

The reverberations were felt in the Mile End, where every week a new band emerged destined to take the world by storm. It was an exciting time to be involved in the music scene here, and while Montreal has always had a certain cachet among artists and continues to do so, the rise of Arcade Fire and the tide that roared in afterward may never be duplicated.

“I don’t think anyone could’ve foreseen the level of popularity, but it was pretty obvious something was going on,” recalled POP Montreal co-founder Daniel Seligman, who booked many of their local shows over the years, including the Funeral album launch at the Salvation Army Citadel, then on Drummond St.