Oh man, this is gonna be good.
As I sat down at my computer this afternoon to begin “working on an essay,” I was, of course, immediately distracted by the shiny blue-glow of my Facebook newsfeed. For once, though, this unintentional procrastination session paid off large.
Yes– my wandering eyes were greeted with the official poster for this year’s edition of Montreal’s favourite summer music festival. This evening, the Internet is abuzz with excitement over this year’s acts, and for a very, very good reason.
Osheaga 2016 marks the first time that Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey and Radiohead will grace the stage down at Parc Jean Drapeau. In fact, both RHCP and Radiohead haven’t even played a show in Montreal since 2012, making their upcoming sets this summer a much-needed return.
On top of the major headlining acts, the 2016 lineup boasts the strongest, most well-rounded collection of artists that the festival has ever organized.
More than ever before, Osheaga 2016 has something for everyone– from the electro-stylings of Disclosure, M83, and Flume to the hip-hop presence of Future and legends Cypress Hill, to the alternative-pop charm of groups like The Lumineers, Bastille, and Passenger.
On top of that, Montreal’s thriving music scene is, once again, very well-represented. This year, Grimes, Half Moon Run, Kaytranada, as well as Busty and the Bass will all be performing over the course of the three-day festival. If you were thinking that Montreal could host a version of Osheaga with only local artists, you’d be absolutely right.
But what makes Osheaga even cooler is it’s ability to feature up-and-coming artists that are about to, for lack of a more eloquent phrase, “blow up.”
Take, for example, Toronto’s hip-hop phenom (some might even say the best thing to come from the 6ix since Drake), Jazz Cartier. There’s also London-based ‘grime’ act Skepta, who’s had tremendous success the past year in the UK and Australia. But if hip-hop isn’t really your scene, there’s Toronto’s grunge-influenced Dilly Dally, Vancouver’s punk-esque White Lung, and Australia’s ultra-innovative Hiatus Kaiyote– all of whom are set to have a massive 2016.
If last year’s edition (Osheaga’s 10th anniversary) was meant to celebrate a decade of growing the summer music festival scene here in Montreal, this year’s edition definitely looks ahead to the future– and no doubt, the future is looking extremely bright.
* For the complete lineup and to purchase passes, please visit osheaga.com
