Osheaga | Quebec in the spotlight

It’s not just big stars from elsewhere at Osheaga. TALK and CRi, two artists proud to represent Quebec, occupied beautiful slots in Saturday’s lineup. The Press was able to speak with each of them, before attending their performances on the stage at Parc Jean-Drapeau.

In the afternoon, around 4:15 p.m., TALK was given the heavy mandate of succeeding Chappell Roan, a rising star who had enjoyed enormous success during his appearance on the main stage.

The Ottawa artist, whose mother is from Val-d’Or, did it without taking himself seriously. In the good sense of the expression.

“During the tour, the shows in Montreal were my favorites,” said the singer-songwriter, who toured in Canada, but also in the United States, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy in 2024.

Laid back, he allowed himself to catapult hot dogs into the crowd and propel his two fangs far away with two kicks. Points for originality.

“I was excited all year to play at Osheaga. […] “Quebecers have given me a lot of love these past two years,” adds the man who made a name for himself by participating in the Quebec Summer Festival in 2022 and last year.

TALK has – rightly – created a pleasant surprise among French speakers by interpreting Saskatchewan of the Three Accords in impeccable joual, he who had been speaking English in his interactions with the crowd since the beginning of his number. Several spectators winked at each other knowingly.

But the artist could also be serious. With his popular pieces A Little Bit Happy And Afraid of the Darkthe big guy in star-spangled overalls demonstrated the power of his vocal cords, playing on gravelly tones that fit the character perfectly. He also performed Creep by Radiohead, one of his favorite songs.

Having previously entrusted to The Press that he had shed tears during his last performance in Montreal, TALK could not help but do it again towards the end of the show, when the audience threw back the chorus of Run Away to Mars. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” he said to him, with sincerity.

Then, in a demonstration of his amiable nonchalance, he returned to free electron mode: the revelation of the year at the last Juno Awards ended his set by brandishing a plastic guitar from the popular Guitar Hero franchise, pretending to play Through the Fire and Flamesknown as the hardest song to master in video games.

Jokingly calling it “the hardest song in the world”, he earned many amused smiles from festival-goers – and certainly made a positive impression on a few people.

Living the electro dream

A dad for a year now, CRi is living life in the fast lane. Even as he’s tried to navigate parenthood, the electronic music producer has performed over 80 concerts around the world.

“It’s incredible. Definitely the most powerful experience a human can have. Combined with my somewhat strange job, it remains a challenge to which I don’t really have the solution,” he maintains, praising his girlfriend’s prowess with the baby.

On Saturday around 5:25 p.m., the Quebec native performed on the Scène de l’Île, which is dedicated to electro.

During his performance, the DJ was dancing energetically. Smiling, you could tell he was having a good time all the way to the back of the electro space.

For him, electronic music is an “outlet from everyday life”, a “joyful mix of culture and entertainment”, a “great excuse to party”.

“I think I’ll look back on those years and say, ‘OK, I was crazy.’ […] That’s a lot, maybe even too much. But at the same time, I’ve been working on my project for ten years, I dreamed about it and now I’m living it!

While some fans waved fans and others bounced a beach ball, CRi made sure to provide them with rhythmic music, tinged with house influences. It made you want to sway your hips and nod your head.

The producer was also testing his show presented “in this form” for the very first time, wanting to experiment with various pieces. He spoke of a risk. The encouragement from the festival-goers signaled a successful bet.

It must also be said that the voices of Jesse Mac Cormack and Klô Pelgag, respectively invited towards the middle and the end of the performance, added a nice touch to the number.

Being able to perform like this, for CRi, is proof of the excitement of electronic music, even on the Quebec scene. Coming from a musical genre that has never been the most famous in the province, he can now live his dream.

“For a few years now, there has been media recognition, from the music industry as well, of the importance of electronic music in the lives of Quebecers. It’s something that wasn’t really considered before,” he rejoices.

The 17^e Osheaga ends on Sunday, headlined by American R&B specialist SZA.