Osheaga Festival

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Osheaga Festival musique et arts
Crowd in 2012 and Montreal skyline in the background
Location(s)	Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Years active	2006–present
Founded by	Nick Farkas^[1]
Date(s)	Last weekend of July and/or first weekend of August
Genre	Music festival, arts festival
Website	Official website

The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (French: Festival de la musique et des arts Osheaga) is a multi-day indie music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held annually at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène every summer. The festival takes place on five stages with various audience capacities. Translated from their French equivalents, they are called "River Stage," "Mountain Stage," "Green Stage," "Trees Stage," and "Zone Picnik Electronik." Each performance area is paired with a sponsor. Band set times fluctuate based on the status of the performer within the festival. Emerging artists play 30-minute sets, and headliners conclude each day with 90-minute plus sets.^[2] The 2006 festival attracted a crowd of around 25,000 people. The 2012 festival reached its 40,000 attendance capacity each day.^[3]

Artists who played at the inaugural Osheaga Festival include Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Dinosaur Jr., k-os, Metric, Damian Marley, G. Love & Special Sauce, Wolf Parade, Bedouin Soundclash, Joseph Arthur, Malajube, Lady Sovereign, Kid Koala, Starsailor, Islands, Amon Tobin, Porter Robinson, Bell Orchestre, Think About Life, Duchess Says, Final Fantasy, The Hidden Cameras, Tokyo Police Club, The Stills, Ben Lee, James Chance and the Contortions, Brazilian Girls, Percy Farm, Patrick Watson, We Are Wolves and Land of Talk.

Description

Since 2006, the Osheaga Music and Arts festival has established itself as the most important festival of its genre in Canada. With its numerous outdoor stages located at parc Jean-Drapeau on Montreal’s Saint Helen’s Island, Osheaga attracted 120 000 music lovers from North America and Europe last year. A huge celebration dedicated to music and visual arts, Osheaga has given itself the objective of discovering local and national emerging talent offering them the opportunity to play alongside some of the biggest international artists in the business including: Coldplay, The Killers, Iggy & The Stooges, Sonic Youth, The Roots, Rufus Wainwright, Arcade Fire, Weezer et Eminem. Over the course of several days, approximately 100 bands will take to the various stages at parc Jean-Drapeau and across the city in the festive ambiance that only a Montreal summer can provide. Osheaga also holds a series of concerts and exhibitions in several locations around the city during the week leading up to the main event. For its eighth edition, the Osheaga Music and Arts festival, presented by Virgin Mobile, promises an exhilarating experience with, among others: The Cure, Mumford & Sons and Phoenix.

Etymology

Crowd gathers behind Osheaga sign. The skyline of Montreal can be seen from the Île Notre-Dame, where the festival is held.

Osheaga is a title given to the particular region of Canada now known as Montreal. The name came to be after Jacques Cartier, one of the first European settlers there, miscommunicated with the local Mohawk people. As the story goes, Cartier approached the Lachine rapid waters. There, he reportedly began waving his hands in either an attempt to inquire about the water conditions or to greet the tribe. The Mohawk oral history states that the Mohawks met these gestures with confusion, calling Cartier “O she ha ga,” or people of shaking hands. Cartier noted the term “Osheaga” to describe the rapid waters, whereas the Mohawks used the phrase to specify where they met the men with shaking hands.^[2]

History

The inaugural edition of Osheaga termed itself a “music and arts festival.” It took place on Labor Day weekend, September 2-3, 2006. Nick Farkas, a concert buyer for Gillett Entertainment Group at the time, presented the event. Noticing a lack of similarly themed music venues on the East Coast, Farkas hoped to take advantage of Montreal’s newfound credibility among indie music listeners. “People love Montreal. Let’s not kid ourselves—that makes it attractive (to bands), but it’s hard for people to take a chance on a first year fest.”^[4] Farkas attempted to establish a lineup of underground artists that would appeal to both discerning fans and the broader public.^[5] Coordinators aspired to transform the festival into a destination event. “That’s the goal—to get people talking about it, and coming form all over,” said Farkas in 2006.

Osheaga’s sophomore year began to take stride with the Smashing Pumpkins, M.I.A, Feist, and the Arctic Monkeys. Accordingly, organizers hoped to imitate the previous year’s success by hosting an assortment of indie performers. “The fest offers an array of quality, mid-level alternative bands. But put them together—here’s the key to Osheaga’s success—and you have a headliner by committee.”^[6] In keeping with the festival’s name, Osheaga coordinator’s also incorporated several Montreal-based bands including the Sam Roberts Band, Stars, Dumas, Sixtoo, Pawa Up First, Pony Up, the Royal Mountain Band, Sunday Sinners, and Pas Chic Chic.^[6]

Moving to the first weekend in August, the third Osheaga festival broadened its indie appeal by incorporating The Killers, a rock group, and Jack Johnson. Crowds initially complained that Johnson would muddle the festival’s persona, but Farkas asserted, “…in (his) philosophy—everything fits.”^[7] At this point in Osheaga’s lifespan, the event was not a financial success. However, the inclusion of more recognizable headliners was intended to draw more expansive crowds. Secondary acts consisted of Metric, The Black Keys, Cat Power, and The Kills. Osheaga 2008 occurred August 2-3 at Jean Drapeau Park, Montreal.

The fourth installation of the festival originally slotted Coldplay and the Beastie Boys as the two-day event’s leading performances. However, the Beastie Boys were forced to withdraw after Adam Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland.^[8] Event organizers filled the opening with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a then up and coming rock group from Brooklyn. 450 refunds were granted to attendees that requested them. Otherwise, reactions to the set change were positive. Despite these setbacks, the fourth Osheaga festival was the first edition to make a profit. 50 acts performed on 4 stages from August 1-2, 2009, including Girl Talk, Lykke Li, Jason Mraz, the Decemberists, Arctic Monkeys, and Vampire Weekend.

In its fifth year, Osheaga welcomed Arcade Fire and a host of eclectic sets to its venues. The MEG stage was replaced by the Green stage—a wind and solar powered platform. In keeping with this environmental consciousness, free bike parking and public transit to Jean Drapeau Park was also offered.^[9] After the sale of Gillett Entertainment Group, Osheaga fell under the promotion of Evenko.^[10] However, Nick Farkas, the company’s Vice President of Concerts and Events, continued to head the festival. Roughly 30% of ticket sales in 2010 came from Montreal, 20% from Ontario, and 12% from the United States.^[11]

The sixth annual Osheaga festival sold more than 81,000 tickets—more than any previous year.^[12] It was also the first three-day incarnation of the event. Eminem closed out the Friday performances, signifying a turning point in the festival’s development.^[13] 38,000 attendees, the largest single-crowd seen since Osheaga’s inauguration, stretched the venue’s 35,000 capacity.^[14] Despite the absence of a similarly high-profile performer, the seventh edition of Osheaga in 2012 sold out at 120,000 total attendees over the three-day weekend from August 3-5, 2012. Farkas credited the surge to 2011s big-name lineup and the festival’s recognition outside Montreal. Eminem’s performance inflated the festival’s presence among American and European markets, making it a destination on an international scale.^[14] Headliners in 2012 included The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Justice, M83, MGMT, Feist, Sigur Ros, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. However, the once intimate festival layout made for reportedly frustrating navigation among such massive crowds.

This year’s festival continued to out-do previous sales, selling out in record time with a total of 135,000 audience members. In fact, 70% of tickets were purchased from outside the Quebec province.^[15] To accommodate these growing numbers, the site at Jean Drapeau Park was expanded to a 42,500-person capacity. The lineup slated Mumford & Sons, The Cure, and Beck as the main attractions, followed by Phoenix, Imagine Dragons, Vampire Weekend, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, New Order, The Lumineers, Tegan and Sara, and Kendrick Lamar. Physical organization of the venue continued to present issues in light of foot traffic-prone crowds. "Adequate flow patterns are something we never thought of before,” said Farkas. “We were always focusing on the lineup, and making it better than the last year."^[15]

Ranked by Pollster as the #1 festival in Canada and the #11 festival in the world, Osheaga has grown significantly since its inauguration.^[16] Some have criticized the pronounced commercial presence at this year’s festival; however, those same reviewers admit that the lineup quality has been well maintained since 2006.^[17] In total, the festival has presented more than 600 performances to more than 400,000 audience members.^[2]

Line-ups

2006

River Stage
Saturday: The Magic Numbers, World Party, The Stills, Malajube, K-os, Amon Tobin, Sonic Youth
Sunday: Islands, Wolf Parade, G. Love & Special Sauce, Damian Marley, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

Mountain Stage
Saturday: Grace Potter, Joseph Arthur, Vulgaires Machins, Dinosaur Jr., Metric, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Sunday: Starsailor, Ben Lee, Dobacaracol, Bedouin Soundclash, Kid Koala, The Flaming Lips

MEG Stage
Saturday: Crystal Cliffs, HushPuppies, Think About Life, Bush Tetras, Duchess Says, We Are Wolves, James Chance, Brazilian Girls
Sunday: Zombie, Herman Düne, Call Me Poupée, Final Fantasy, The Hidden Cameras, Bell Orchestre, Lady Sovereign

Trees Stage
Saturday: Mission District, Yoav, Major Maker, Dirty Tricks, The Colour, The Shys, Wintersleep, Born Ruffians, Matt Mays & El Torpedo
Sunday: TAM, Shoot the Moon, Tokyo Police Club, The Meligrove Band, Basia Bulat, Patrick Watson, Land of Talk, The Mongrels, Holy Fuck

Arts Lounge
Saturday: Interactive Video, Vj Pillow, Hvw8, Solid State, Ckut, Intorchao
Sunday: Vj Pillow, Hvw8, Mark Robertson, Solid State, Intorchao, Interactive Video, Kid Koala

2007

Tickets for the second day of the 2007 edition.

River Stage
Saturday: Rahzel, Editors, Blonde Redhead, Stars, Dumas, The Smashing Pumpkins
Sunday: The Brand New Heavies, Paolo Nutini, Martha Wainwright, Arctic Monkeys, Gotan Project, Bloc Party

Mountain Stage
Saturday: Apostle of Hustle, Jamie T, Xavier Caféine, Patrick Watson, Feist, Damien Rice
Sunday: We Are Scientists, Pascale Picard, Sam Roberts Band, Macy Gray, Interpol

MEG Stage
Saturday: Donzelle, Thunderheist, The Clientele, Santogold, Adam Kesher, Explosions in the Sky, Mike Relm
Sunday: Gray Kid, Peter von Poehl, Pas Chic Chic, Au Revoir Simone, Miracle Fortress, The Besnard Lakes, M.I.A.

Trees Stage
Saturday: Lesbo Vrouven, Ohbijou, Ideal Lovers, The Veils, The Nymphets, Panthers, Fucked Up, CPC Gangbangs, The Heights, Hank Pine and Lily Fawn
Sunday: Dragonette, The Most Serene Republic, Krief, Sunday Sinners, Pony Up, The Royal Mountain Band, Harvee, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Elsiane, Plaster

Salon Des Arts
Saturday: Justin Nozuka, Sixtoo, Maxime Robin, Tony Ezzy, Daft Punk's Electroma (film screening)
Sunday: Sixtoo, Pawa Up First, 011

2008

River Stage
Saturday: Louis XIV, N.E.R.D, Metric, Cat Power, The Killers
Sunday: Neil Halstead, Matt Costa, The Black Keys, Duffy, Jack Johnson

Mountain Stage
Saturday: Sleepercar, Spiritualized, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Iggy & The Stooges
Sunday: Rogue Wave, The Weakerthans, Gogol Bordello, Broken Social Scene

MEG Stage
Saturday: Beast, Plants and Animals, Duchess Says, DeVotchKa, Booka Shade, Sébastien Tellier
Sunday: Jamie Lidell, The Kills, MGMT, The Go! Team, CSS, Chromeo

Trees Stage
Saturday: The Wooden Sky, La Patère Rose, The Tom Fun Orchestra, Luke Doucet & The White Falcon, Le Husky, Chocolat, Payz Play, Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, The National Parcs
Sunday: Esker Mica, Chris Velan, Cœur de pirate, Robertson, Shawn Hewitt & The National Strike, Rock Plaza Central, The Enemy UK, Radio Radio, Bonjour Brumaire

2009

River Stage
Saturday: Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Josh Ritter, Eagles of Death Metal, Jason Mraz, Coldplay
Sunday: The Honey Brothers, Beast, Vampire Weekend, The Decemberists, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Mountain Stage
Saturday: Donavon Frankenreiter, Caracol, Elbow, The Roots
Sunday: The Beatnuts, The Ting Tings, Rufus Wainwright, Arctic Monkeys

MEG Stage
Saturday: NLF3, La Roux, K'naan, The Stills, Lykke Li, Girl Talk
Sunday: Yes Giantess, Miike Snow, Naïve New Beaters, Cursive, Tiga, Crystal Castles

Trees Stage
Saturday: Jesca Hoop, Silver Starling, Parlovr, Gentleman Reg, Flash Lightnin', The Rural Alberta Advantage, Chinatown, Winter Gloves, Woodhands
Sunday: Le Volume Était Au Maximum, Lanan, Lil Andy, Arkells, Amazing Baby, Ladies of the Canyon, Heartless Bastards, Hey Rosetta!, Hollerado

2010

Parc Jean-Drapeau during Osheaga 2010.

River Stage
Saturday: The Walkmen, Sarah Harmer, Jimmy Cliff, Stars, Pavement, Arcade Fire
Sunday: Seu Jorge, The Gaslight Anthem, The Black Keys, The Cat Empire, Sonic Youth, Weezer

Mountain Stage
Saturday: Shane Murphy, Rich Aucoin, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, K'naan, Keane, The National
Sunday: GALACTIC with CYRIL NEVILLE, Ian Kelly, Ariane Moffatt, Charlie Winston, Snoop Dogg, Metric

Green Stage
Saturday: Skip The Use, Owen Pallett, Dan Black, Japandroids, Jamie Lidell, Beach House, Robyn
Sunday: Sennheiser Winner, Still Life Still, Blitzen Trapper, The Antlers, We Are Wolves, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Devo

Trees Stage
Saturday: Daniel Isaiah Schachter, Ingrid Michaelson, Final Flash, Little Scream, Bahamas, Avi Buffalo, Marie-Pier Arthur, Fran Healy, The Unsettlers
Sunday: Cotton Mouth, Ariel, Hannah Georgas, Horse Feathers, Amanda Mabro, The Morning Benders, Pawa Up First, Frank Turner, Ra Ra Riot, Tim Barry

Zone Piknic Electronik
Saturday: E.S.L. with Sharivari and Skinny Bones, Roska, Mary Anne Hobbs, Hovatron, Lazer Sword, Dj Bus
Sunday: Fancyfhreek, Lunice, Major Lazer, Mossa, Round Table Knights

2011

Alice Glass and Ethan Kath of Crystal Castles performs at Osheaga in 2011.

River Stage
Friday: Kid Koala, Charles Bradley, Bran Van 3000, Eminem
Saturday: The Midway State, Hey Rosetta!, John Butler Trio, Karkwa, Death From Above 1979, Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Sunday: Typhoon, Eels, Cypress Hill, Beirut, The Tragically Hip, The Flaming Lips

Mountain Stage
Friday: The Knux, Broken Social Scene, Janelle Monáe
Saturday: The 222s, Manchester Orchestra, Tokyo Police Club, Sam Roberts Band, Lupe Fiasco, Bright Eyes
Sunday: The Sheepdogs, Frightened Rabbit, The Sounds, Malajube, City and Colour, Death Cab For Cutie

Green Stage
Friday: Lights, Glass Candy, Joseph Arthur, Timber Timbre
Saturday: Passwords, Oh Land, Braids, Twin Shadow, Sia, Ratatat, Bassnectar
Sunday: Sherlock, An Horse, Smith Westerns, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Ellie Goulding, White Lies, Crystal Castles, MSTRKRFT

Trees Stage
Friday: Sweet Thing, Uncle Bad Touch, Ana Tijoux, El Ten Eleven, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Barr Brothers
Saturday: Jesuslesfilles, The High Dials, Mother Mother, The Mountain Goats, Suuns, PS I Love You, Anna Calvi, Sam Adams, Fucked Up
Sunday: Elephant Stone, Jimmy Hunt, Freedom or Death, The Luyas, Viva Brother, The Joy Formidable, The Low Anthem, Shad, Baths, Galaxie

Zone Piknic Electronik
Friday: Slim Jim, Alaclair Ensemble, Comic Strip, MC2, DJ Cosmo
Saturday: DUVALL, Egyptrixx, DâM-Funk, Jacques Greene, Robot Koch, Robot Koch, Girl Unit
Sunday: A-Rock + Shaydakiss, Dillon Francis, Jeremy Ellis, Jamie xx, Claude Von Stroke

2012

Crowd at night on second day of Osheaga 2012.

Bloc Party performs on the The Green Stage (La scène verte) in 2012.

Osheaga 2012 took place August 3, 4, and 5 at Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau.

The Piknic Électronik stage, one of several scenes where Osheaga artists perform.

The final lineup was announced on July 10, 2012 and includes:

River Stage
Friday: LP, Fun, Radio Radio, Franz Ferdinand, Florence + The Machine, Justice
Saturday: The Dø, Portugal. The Man, Plants and Animals, Dumas, Garbage, Snoop Dogg
Sunday: Zeus, Aloe Blacc, Common, Passion Pit, City and Colour, The Black Keys

Mountain Stage
Friday: Charli XCX, The Walkmen, Down With Webster, Amadou & Mariam, The Weeknd, Sigur Rós
Saturday: Kathleen Edwards, Calexico, Young The Giant, Brand New, Feist
Sunday: CHAPPO, Dan Mangan, Tame Impala, Santigold, The Shins, Metric

Green Stage
Friday: Hey Ocean!, Poliça, Bombay Bicycle Club, Of Monsters and Men, Gary Clark Jr., Classified, MGMT
Saturday: Memoryhouse, The Aggrolites, Cursive, The Raveonettes, ASAP Rocky, Yeasayer, The Jesus and Mary Chain
Sunday: Peter Peter, The Airplane Boys, The Airborne Toxic Event, Austra, Woodkid, Bloc Party, M83

Trees Stage
Friday: Solids, Yukon Blonde, Freelance Whales, The Jezabels, Dum Dum Girls, Atlas Sound, Wintersleep, Half Moon Run, Les Breastfeeders
Saturday: Propofol, Karim Ouellet, Kandle, Black Lips, Young Galaxy, Arkells, Avec pas d'casque, The Death Set, The Sheepdogs
Sunday: Doe Paoro, Zola Jesus, Koriass, Michael Kiwanuka, James Vincent McMorrow, Sandro Perri, The Black Angels, Asexuals, Keys N Krate

Zone Piknic Electronik
Friday: Funkyfalz, Prison Garde, Mak 10 & Hyper MC, Huoratron
Saturday: Simon Called Peter, Kaytradamus, Nosaj Thing, Brandt Brauer Frick, SBTRKT, Little Dragon, Adventure Club,
Sunday: Vosper, Zombie Disco Squad, Le Matos, Buraka Som Sistema, Madeon, Wolfgang Gartner, Knife Party

The 2012 edition of the festival sold 120 000 tickets in total.^[18]

2013

Osheaga 2013 took place August 2, 3, and 4 at Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau.

River Stage

Friday: Capital Cities, Oberhofer, Ben Howard, Two Door Cinema Club, Vampire Weekend, The Cure

Saturday: Raine Maida, The Heavy, Flogging Molly, Tegan and Sara, Imagine Dragons, Beck

Sunday: Twin Forks, Frightened Rabbit, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaries, Big Boi, Kendrick Lamar, Mumford & Sons

Mountain Stage

Friday: K-OS, Daughter, Alt-J, Ellie Goulding, Phoenix

Saturday: Grouplove, Jimmy Eat World, Stars, K-OS, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Sunday: Atlas Genius, Jessie Ware, Silversun Pickups, The Lumineers, New Order

Green Stage

Friday: Majical Kloudz, Guards, DIIV, Lianne La Havas, Jake Bug, The Gaslight Anthem, Beach House

Saturday: Wild Nothing, Yelawolf, Lou Doillon, Tricky, The Breeders, Explosions in the Sky, C2C

Sunday: MNDR, Bad Things, Little Green Cars, Icona Pop, Holy Ghost!, Father John Misty, Misteur Valaire, Hot Chip

Trees Stage

Friday: Ponctuation, Hyphen Hyphen, Wild Belle, The Head and the Heart, Palma Violets, Cafeine, Diamond Rings, Rich Aucoin

Saturday: Corb Lund, Groenland, Deap Vally, Loud Lary Ajust, Frank Turner, Bob Mould, We Are Wolves, Angel Haze

Sunday: Nightbox, Les Soeurs Boulay, Shovels & Rope, Hannah Georgas, Dusted, Hollerado, The Neighbourhood, Death Grips,

Zone Piknic Electronik

Friday: Millimetrik, EC Twins, Carnage, Kidnap Kid, Rudimental, Vilify & Henward, Jets, Baauer, A Tribe Called Red

Saturday: Humans, Rone, Amtrac, Cajmere, Soul Clap, Azari & Ill, Bonobo, Style of Eye, Jacques Lu Cont, Porter Robinson

Sunday: DVBBS, Odezenne, Robert DeLong, Floating Points, Jackmaster, The Knocks, Gramatik, Tommy Trash, Disclosure, Pretty Lights