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Reminiscing About Osheaga

CJLO's Krystal Christine reviews the 10th Annual Osheaga Music and Arts Festival held at Parc Jean Drapeau on July 31 to August 2, 2015. Be sure to tune in to The Trend on CJLO with Krystal and Camille every Tuesday at 9 PM for a full dose of entertainment and hot topics.

Day 1: July 31st, 2015

FKA Twigs

With the sun shining bright, Osheaga defiantly started on the right foot. After being crammed in the metro from Berri-UQAM to Jean-Drapeau, as soon as the doors opened people went running out with excitement and chanting "Osheaga, Osheaga..." Once I picked up my bracelet and went through a quick security search, the first stage I went to was the Honda Stage. I made it there just in time to catch the ending of Sango's performance, and this is where my Osheaga experience began. Montreal's very own Tommy Kruise stepped onto the stage after Sango and deejayed for about an hour rocking a Marc Gasol jersey.

Half way through Tommy Kruise's set I went over the bridge to where they had three more stages set up. I sat down and took a minute to plan out the rest of my day while listening to Bahamas playing at the Valley Stage. I heard so much talk about Marina & The Diamonds prior to attending Osheaga, so it was only right that I went to check out her performance which took place at one of the bigger stages, sponsored by Molson. Marina wore a bright blue cat suit with pink heels, it was a very neon type of look. Not knowing much about her I found myself singing along to her catchy song "Heartbreaker".  After her set I went back to the Honda Stage and stayed there for Cashmere Cat's performance and a little bit of Brodinski. Even though I did not know all of Cashmere Cat's songs, I enjoyed his set and got really excited when he played his hits like "Mirror Maru", "Adore", and "Pearls". 

Marina & The Diamonds

The highlight of the day was seeing G-Eazy. His DJ got the crowd pumped and ready for his performance, and when he jumped out onto the stage everyone went crazy. G-Eazy was highly engaged with the audience and he really took in their energy, which elevated his performance even more. He wore all black as usual, with his hair nicely slicked back. I really enjoyed his performance because he said a little something that gave a nice intro to each song he was about to perform. He sang some of his hits like "Lotta That", "Tumblr Girls", and my favourite one of all, "Let's Get Lost".

Next up was FKA Twigs on the Green Stage. She wore her iconic styled pants with a bra style crop top, and my mouth just dropped when I saw her abs. They were sweet and subtle yet noticeable. Twigs really came to life Friday night and it was cool seeing her perform because it was similar to watching one of her music videos expect she was live right in front of me.

My biggest disappointment was ScHoolBoy Q. He expressed how happy he was to make it across the border, but it seemed like since he had doubts in his mind that he would not have made it into Canada, he did not plan for his set. There was a pause between each song and the main stage lights went off and he went and spoke with his DJ, then the next song played. For me I found his performance to be a little bit slow compared to some of the others I experienced that day.

Day 2: August 1st, 2015

Bishop Nehru

My aim was to make it for Lion Babe's performance since I have been recently following their moves on Instagram, but I only got to Parc Jean Drapeau for the ending of their performance. On the Stingray Stage I got to see Jillian Hervey dance as she performed their biggest song yet "Treat Me Like Fire", so I was really happy that I at least got to see that.

New York's Bishop Nehru was up next on that same stage so I grabbed a seat on the bleachers and prepared for his performance. His DJ also did a great job with getting the crowd ready for his performance. It was his first time performing here in Montreal, and during our interview he said that Montreal showed a lot of love. 

Check out my interview with Bishop Nehru right now on the CJLO Magazine SoundCloud:

After the interview, I went to see Kygo perform. He started off his performance with "Firestone", and he blasted lots of fire and streamers. The closing acts for this night were Kendrick Lamar and Robin Schulz, and the both had a huge crowd. Kendrick Lamar started his performance a little late, but when he finally came out in his white jeans and cameo jacket, he put on a great show! From what I heard he did a nice mix of his new and older music, I did not stay until the end since I also wanted to see Robin Schulz. So I missed when Kendrick Lamar brought out Mos Def to perform "Alright". Robin Schulz's set was great everyone was dancing and having a good time.

Day 3: August 2nd, 2015

Raury

I started the day off early by taking in Raury's performance on the Green Stage. He was my favourite performance of the entire festival because his energy was on another level, and he really interacted with the crowd. Raury initiated a moment of silence for all the people around the world who have died because of injustice, and followed up with a tribute song to them. I found that to be very touching. I was really happy to finally see Raury with his iconic look sporting his straw hat and overalls.

Charli XCX also had a strong performance. She told the crowd how happy she was to be in Montreal performing for us on her birthday. I think Charli XCX won the award for having the most beach balls during a performance. Right after Charli XCX I went to check out Toro Y Moi and his performance started a little late because they were still doing a sound check as fans waited for his performance to get started with. Toro expressed how happy he was to finally be in Montreal during the summer, since all the other times when he came it was cold. According to one of Toro's fans, the majority of the songs he performed were from his new album, What For?, which has more of a rock feel. His last two songs were older and has more of an EDM feel. Minus the rough start, Toro gave a good performance.

My band discovery from Osheaga is Broods from New Zealand. I checked out some of their music on SoundCloud prior to going to the festival, so I decided to stop by their set to see them live. Just seeing their connection on stage made me like them as a group. It looked like they were having so much fun doing what they love. I ended my Osheaga experience with Zhu, an anonymous DJ from Los Angeles. He played his hits like "Cocaine Model", "Faded", and "Superfriends", which got everyone dancing. Even when he had finished his set people were chanting that they wanted more but that did not happen.

Broods

My experience on a whole was amazing. Just thinking back on it, I can really say that I had a good time. It was so cool to know that there were more than just Montrealers at this festival. I actually did not meet many people who were from Montreal, most of the people I spoke to were from Toronto. I did meet a group of people from Calgary and Boston, and this made me realize how popular Osheaga is as a music and arts festival. There was a mini amusement park with many activities to do between or during performances. There were also many food trucks to get food from and many promo stations like Mike and Ike, Red Bull, and Vans. As I figured the trending style of the festival was flowered head pieces, lots of crop tops and shorts, plus flash tattoos. To my surprise, there were plenty of people rocking a septum piercing so that was a huge fashion statement. I am so glad to say that my first time attending Osheaga was safe and wonderful experience!

Cashmere Cat