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All photos courtesy of Osheaga

Having lived in Montreal for around 8 years now, my only experience with Osheaga before this weekend included the influx of people in the downtown core during festival weekend, and friends from out West popping in to say "Hi" before they get lost in Parc Jean Drapeau for three days straight. "Brosheaga", as locals affectionately call it, lived up to every stereotype I had imagined while shattering a few preconceptions. One disclaimer: I hate crowds, so outdoor festivals aren't very appealing to me. However, the fact that Osheaga takes place on Parc Jean-Drapeau, a little island of paradise south of Montreal, made the festival seem less like a dirt-and-sunburn panic attack that drips out of other fests' press photos, but a magical green oasis covered in "festival fashion" and corporate sponsors.

This year's Osheaga was a very well-organized festival, and the designers put in a lot of effort to make each stage comfortable for the viewers. You have the option at every stage to get down and dirty in the standing areas, or to sit back and relax on the grass, red lawn chairs, or wooden bleachers set up for the festival. There were also spaces set up away from each stage so there was ample room for festival goers to take a break from the sun, and lie in the cool wood a hammock (if you were lucky enough to get one!) amongst fairy lights and ground lamps. Volunteers and staff were aplenty, and I was presently surprised to see that Osheaga cooperated with local food trucks and restaurants to provide the food, local bike shop Bikurious (1757 rue Amherst) for a Bike Valet, and art collective En Masse to bring that Montreal flair to the festival space.

The festival was spread across six stages throughout the park, so it was a lot easier to get away from the massive crowd at the main stage if that was your thing.

One thing I will say is that for a reviewer covering female artists, there was a glaring lack of them on this year's lineup. For each day, I had plenty of time gaps while people I met up with had a tightly-packed schedule. My largest criticism of Osheaga is the same as my critique of most festival line-ups: the programmers can do a lot better with the diversity of their line up. We all know that women and people of colour make music just as well as white dudes. It's time to let festival schedules reflect that.

Here's a run down of nine female fronted musical acts that I saw over the course of the weekend.

London Grammar (photo: Tim Snow)

LONDON GRAMMAR 

A British electronic pop trio formed by Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman, and Dominic 'Dot' Major, played Osheaga's Scène Verte on Friday. I had never heard of this band before the festival and was feeling so-so about them after a quick listen on YouTube. However, I was very glad that I decided to catch their set because the minimalist music in their set accents Reid's extremely powerful voice to create a beautiful paired down sound. A comparison could be made to Austra, however London Grammar's set was not for dancing to.

Against Me! (photo: Pat Beaudry) 

AGAINST ME!

Fans were out early in the afternoon to catch Against Me! on one of the two main stages, Scène de la Rivière, on Saturday. The band gave a solid, driving performance and played a nice mix of new music with old hits thrown in for the long-time fans. Laura Jane Grace is such an excellent performer and her growling vocals energized the crowd, touching on musical themes of gender dysphoria and belonging. One long time fan, Chelsea (27), said that she was in tears seeing the band again after so many years because "before, [Laura Jane Grace] seemed so angry performing, and today you could tell that she was truly joyful". The band went on to play a second show at the Corona Theatre that same night.

Serena Ryder (photo: Pat Beaudry) 

SERENA RYDER

Fresh off of hosting the Juno Awards, Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder followed up Against Me! at the other main stage, Scène de la Montange, in what was a strange genre shift. I felt kind of bad for her as the massive crowd drifted away to see other sets at different stages. I stuck around, as I've never heard her music outside of Canadian commercial radio, and was pleasantly surprised. Ryder's music is standard—she keeps to the '90s tradition of female singer-songwriters, however she has a voice more akin to a rock n' roller which I wasn't expecting! Her current sound would have fit in great in a Lilith Fair line up, but with a voice like that she could definitely make a genre shift in the future if she wanted to take her music in a hard rock direction.

HAIM (photo: Pat Beaudry)

HAIM

Back to Scène de la Rivière, the crowd was going crazy for Californian sister-trio HAIM. While talented guitar players, I was put off by their stage presence. Fans seemed to find their on-stage antics and over the top "guitar faces" endearing, but I decided to leave after three basic rock songs.

Mozart's Sister (photo: Tim Snow)

MOZART'S SISTER

Montreal local duo Mozart's Sister opened Scène Verte early Sunday afternoon. A last-minute addition to the festival, they would have made a better fit later on in the evening, as their electrifying and fun dance pop would have played well to a larger crowd. It was my first time seeing Mozart's Sister perform as a duo, and new addition Pamela Dwyer's voice was a great addition to project founder Caila Thompson-Hannant's powerful vocals. Their set had one driving, catchy song after another complete with interesting lyrics. If you're looking for an intelligent pop experience, this is the act for you.

Foxtrott (photo: Pierre Bourgault)

FOXTROTT

Foxtrott is the solo project of Montreal singer-producer Marie-Helene L. Delorme. For the festival set, a three-piece band backed her: a woman playing the French horn and trumpet, and two men playing percussion. Foxtrott played Scène des Arbres, a smaller stage near Scène Verte concurrently with Mozart's Sister. However, she had quite a large crowd nearing the end of her performance and had them dancing away, even though the day was still young. Montreal francophones love a good brass instrument, and this was no exception. Delorme spoke about her Shields EP and let the crowd know that she will be coming out with her début album in the near future, much to her fans' delight.

CHVRCHES (photo: Pat Beaudry)

CHVRCHES

More than a couple people I encountered at the main stages on Sunday were waiting expectantly for Scottish group CHVRCHES to take Scène de la Montange, and for good reason. The band delivered a solid fifty minutes of flawless electropop, complete with endearing banter about marine mammals and compliments to Canadian music output. They cycled through the hits off of their début album, The Bones Of What You Believe, and as I looked around, most of the crowd was moving in time. The band performed very well together, and their live show sounded straight off of the album. At the end of their performance, the group said that Osheaga was one of the best festivals in the world, and that they had been treated very nicely all day. Props Montreal!

Lorde (photo: Pat Beaudry)

LORDE

Grammy-winner Lorde took the Scène de la Montange before festival closers Arctic Monkeys to a completely packed audience. For those potentially on the fence about this young and rising star, if you were in the audience you would now know for sure that she is the real deal. She was completely larger than life and performed with an exuberant energy. Although the youngest performer I saw all weekend, she was easily the most polite, thanking the audience often and speaking to the crowd with incredible poise. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy her live performance as her album, Pure Heroine, was my top pick of 2013 and sometimes that special something gets lost from album-to-stage. I didn't need to worry though, as the muted electronics and deep bass notes resonated throughout the field, and her pre-recorded backing vocals wove perfectly with her live vocals. She is an immensely talented performer and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of music she'll be making in the next ten years.

Lykke Li (photo: Osheaga)

LYKKE LI

Swedish artist Lykke Li closed the festival across the park at Scène Verte. It was a subdued vibe compared to the clamouring set by The Arctic Monkeys, and a beautiful way to end three long days in the sun. Waves of people thronged to the field, most choosing to sit on the hill with their loved ones as she performed her latest tracks off the album I Never Learn. She has such emotion to her work that I was a bit skeptical about how it would translate live, but the density to this album's music translated well to a festival atmosphere. Her lighting was dark, save for a few white strips on the bottom that gave the illusion of candles. The only wish I had would have been for the Scène Verte to have television screens, as you could barely see the artists if you were not at the front of the stage. The other unfortunate occurrence was that the music from the nearby Scène des Arbes somewhat bled into her set, which ruined the mood. I enjoyed her performance, but think that I would rather listen to her in a small venue next time to really experience the true intimacy in her music.

--Join DJ Beansie Saretsky every Monday at 5 PM on Maiden Voyage for the best emerging female-fronted music, only on CJLO!

Is your Tuesday night lacking in heaviness?  Well, CJLO is looking to change that.  Starting August 5th, the first Tuesday of every month is Heavy Night at McClean's Pub, located at 1210 Rue Peel.  CJLO DJs will be giving you all the heavy music you can handle, from punk to metal and everything in between.  Plus, there will be food and drink specials all night to keep the party rockin'.  So come on down to McLean's starting at 9PM and turn Tuesday into your favorite day of the week, from the station that knows heavy, CJLO.

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Stories written by Taisha Henry + Marilla Steuter-Martin + Catlin Spencer 

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Stories by Marilla Steuter-Martin

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