An (almost) normal festival season for Osheaga

Show producer evenko today unveils the full line-up for the 15and edition of its Osheaga festival. These hundred names of artists from here and (especially) elsewhere are added to the headliners already announced: rock veterans Foo Fighters, whose concert is scheduled for Friday August 29, rapper A$AP Rocky the next day, and the British pop diva Dua Lipa closing on the 31st. At a time when, almost everywhere on the planet, the authorities are abolishing health restrictions thanks to the fading of the wave of the Omicron variant, can we finally hope for a “normal” festival summer?

“I’ve always been an optimist,” admits Nick Farkas, vice-president of programming, concerts and events at evenko. “In 2020, I still believed that it was possible to hold Osheaga, the same the following year. “Two years ago, he had to resign himself to postponing the festivities of the 15and anniversary of one of the flagship musical events of the Montreal summer. In April 2020, evenko again canceled its appointment in which headliners Cardi B, Post Malone and the Foo Fighters were to participate, instead tinkering with a modest “reunion” edition of the 1er to October 3 featuring local and national artists including Charlotte Cardin and Half Moon Run.

This year, Nick Farkas believes in it: “If there are sanitary measures, we will live with them and we will respect the instructions as we have done in our rooms since the start of the pandemic – even this Ricky Martin concert at the Center Bell [le 9 octobre dernier] filled did not cause outbreaks, even though people were dancing! We have heard the premiers tell us that we will have to live with COVID, but I am very confident” in the fact that it will be able to accommodate up to 50,000 spectators a day.

As long as evenko can hold an Osheaga at maximum capacity, it will take place, with or without sanitary measures. As of March 14, performance halls will again be authorized to open to their maximum capacity, and the government will gradually withdraw the vaccine passport, announced the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, while warning that that could be used again if the epidemiological situation were to deteriorate. Nick Farkas assures that his organization is ready to validate the health passports of its spectators if necessary.

Because according to Martin Roy, President and CEO of the Grouping of Major International Events (REMI), “there remains a doubt about the evolution of the pandemic. Will there be another variant by then that will ruin the whole thing? We still benefit from the experience gained over the past two years. However, we know that in summer, there are not only far fewer cases [d’infection à la COVID], but also fewer hospitalizations; if the number of hospitalizations is a measure taken in the management of the pandemic, we can therefore expect that things will proceed normally. »

Festival organizers are still asking questions ahead of the summer season, adds Martin Roy, starting with the reluctance of festival-goers in the face of large crowds. “Then, will the private sponsors also be back? They too have had a hard time with the pandemic, we have lost some along the way. And our suppliers, our entire business environment? There is also inflationary pressure that we have to deal with. The situation is very complex, but we go ahead anyway. »

For the public here, first

Witness the Osheaga poster, not so handicapped by the uncertainty that the vice-president and his colleagues from the major festivals publicly deplored at the beginning of February last, criticizing our decision-makers for the lack of predictability about the timetable allowing the complete return performing arts in Quebec. “If we had had to wait longer before confirming [la tenue d’Osheaga]we would probably have lost a few artists,” says Farkas.

“For the 15and year, we really wanted to focus on programming that offers both discoveries and artists who have been around for a long time, but also have a great musical diversity and strong artists in each of these genres”, says the programmer, in praising the programming choices that distinguish the Montreal event from its American and European counterparts — the presence of Nigerian Burna Boy, afrobeats star, just under A$AP Rocky as the headliner on Saturday, or the brilliant author -composer-performer Mitski, who will also perform on March 19 in Montreal. Music lovers will also be delighted to see the names of Charli XCX, Bleachers, Les Louanges, Caribou, Idles or even Zach Zoya added to the list.

The uncertainty that persists regarding the return of festival-goers from outside the province has guided the programming choices for this 15and edition of Osheaga, which relies on a few proven successes on the Quebec market, such as the American psychedelic rock trio Khruangbin high on the bill for Saturday, July 30, or that of the Belgian rapper Damso, undoubtedly one of the most popular French-speaking artists prominently in an Osheaga program (Stromae was also featured in the 2015 edition, but had to cancel his presence for health reasons).

“It is certain that this year, we pushed more to have Quebec artists on the poster,” assures Nick Farkas, acknowledging that the success of the event is based first and foremost on the satisfaction of local music lovers. In addition to Les Louanges and Zach Zoya, Osheaga will give a stage to Safia Nolin, Robert Robert, Men I Trust, Geoffroy, Pierre Kwenders, Skiifall, Fredz and Sophia Bel, among others.

To see in video


source site-39