Osheaga fest wraps with ‘no regrets’
Nick Farkas and Jacques Aubé were happy men on Sunday afternoon. The 13th Osheaga Music and Arts Festival was another one for the books, boasting sellout crowds of 45,000 attendees for each of its three days, and further cementing its status as one of the essential stops of summer in Montreal.
“It’s an event that’s unique, maybe even one of the city’s gems,” said Aubé, CEO of Evenko, the promoter that puts on Osheaga. If he does say so himself; but it’s hard to argue with a three-day party that continues to draw droves of music lovers to Quebec on an annual basis.
An impressive 70 per cent of this year’s festival-goers were from outside the province, a proportion that is well above norms elsewhere, Aubé noted. More numbers: 50 per cent of fans streamed in from Ontario, and 65 to 70 per cent were women.
It was Osheaga’s second year at the temporary site on Île Notre Dame, as renovations continue for the revamped regular site at nearby Jean-Drapeau Park. Work is on schedule, Aubé and Farkas (Evenko’s VP of concerts and events) noted, and the new grounds should be ready to accommodate even bigger crowds of up to 65,000 starting next summer.
That doesn’t mean attendance will jump by 20,000 immediately; Evenko is intent on metering things to maximize attendees’ comfort, as well as circulation on the site, according to Aubé.
This year’s festival will be remembered for the show that almost wasn’t. Friday night headliner Travis Scott arrived on a private jet but got delayed at customs, taking the stage at 11:03 p.m., an hour and 15 minutes late, three minutes past curfew and eight minutes after the scheduled end of his set.
The American rapper played until 11:40 p.m., making for the latest wrap time of any Osheaga to date.
It’s not an experience Farkas is keen to relive.
“It was super stressful,” he said. “You have no control. We had six phones going. I was phoning his New York production manager. We were being told he was in the car. He’s not in the car. He lost his cell. He’s going back for his cell. Now he’s in the car …”
“Still, it was a thrill,” Aubé enthused, to which Farkas shot back with a playful yet haunted, “No.”
Scott’s performance was nonetheless among this critic’s weekend highlights, as were several performances by female artists, including Friday appearances by Jenny Lewis, St. Vincent and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, plus Blondie, Kali Uchis and LP on Saturday.
British dance-pop star Dua Lipa stole the show on Sunday. Every once in a while you see an artist perform at Osheaga and think: “This coulda been a headliner.”
Lipa was that artist this year. The singer’s late-afternoon set on the River Stage had it all: showmanship, galvanizing hits and a wildly enthusiastic crowd that stretched as far as the eye could see. No complaints, though — it was fitting to have the sun still out for her sunny, singalong songs, lending a massive beach party vibe to the proceedings. Simply irresistible.
The same could be said for Post Malone.
It seemed like everyone at Osheaga was on hand for the Syracuse, N.Y., rapper’s sunset set on the River Stage. His torch song I Fall Apart (questionably dedicated to “the b---h that broke my heart,” followed by a prompt for the crowd to chant “F--k that b---h!,” garnered a heartfelt singalong, as did pretty much everything he played.
Hands swayed side to side for So Flex, while waves of cheers greeted White Iverson and Rockstar.
It was a starkly different vibe when dark Ohio rockers The National took over on the opposing Mountain Stage.
“Hello. It’s good to be back here. How’s it going?” intoned lead singer Matt Berninger, seemingly enjoying the opportunity to play party pooper, offsetting Post Malone’s radio-friendly urban jams with his band’s soulsearching anthems.
Let’s just say there wasn’t much crossover between the two crowds, and the crowd thinned dramatically for Berninger and his crew.
Despite The National’s profound artistic merit, it felt like a misstep in terms of programming.
But while a downer after Post Malone, The National was a suitable setup for Florence and the Machine.
Enchanting British singer Florence Welch just headlined Osheaga with her band in 2015, yet she’s always a delight.
With a captivating stage presence and a soaring voice, she pranced about the stage barefoot, spreading pixie dust in her wake.
“Are you guys having a good time so far?” she asked.
“I know it’s the end of the festival, and it’s a lot — we’re going to heal you, OK? You’re going to leave this festival and nobody’s gonna have a hangover. No one’s going to have any regrets.”
And so it was.