OSHEAGA’s 19th edition ran July 31 to August 2 at Parc Jean-Drapeau, and the weather spent most of the weekend hedging its bets—Day 1 was bright and warm (!), but from there the skies turned grey and stayed that way, with a bit of rain on Saturday and a proper soaking on Sunday. And while no one loves a rainy festival, we have to admit that there was something beautiful about watching thousands of ponchoed festivalgoers descend on the OSHEAGA grounds with admirable commitment and excitement to catch their favorite artists live.
Here are the eight sets we’re still talking about.
1. The xx
The xx closed the first night with their long-awaited return to Montreal, and the comeback set ran the minimalism and restraint that defines their sound. It was one of few moments of stillness; the sun coming down over the St Lawrence river as Romy and Oliver Sim traded vocals over Jamie xx’s spare percussion. Nobody around us talked through it, which at a festival this size is its own kind of review.
2. Brutalismus 3000
At times, all we could see was smoke—but the hard techno and Eurodance-streaked tempi of Brutalismus 3000’s set was enough to get us dancing. Playing the Coca-Cola Island stage and setting up a night of techno that culminated with a performance by Amelie Lens, Brutalismus’s high energy set brought us and a couple thousand more festivalgoers to their feet. People were still going when the smoke cleared.
3. Virginie B
It’s always fun to catch something new at a festival like Osheaga, and our favorite discovery of the weekend happened to be a local Montreal artist by the name of Virginie B. Dressed as a medieval princess, Virginie commanded the Sirius XM stage, playing a set that drew from her 2024 sophomore album Astral 2000. It was theatrical, it was camp, it was queer, and well-attended, drawing one of the most devoted hometown crowds of the weekend.
4. Tate McRae
We love an Osheaga debut, and Tate McRae’s may just have been the best of the weekend. Closing out a greyed-out Saturday’s, Tate’s high-energy performance marked the start of a new era: Roman columns across the stage, a pack of dancers, and choreography carrying most of the set. She even finished by dipping herself in gold. Can someone say viral?
5. Trixie Mattel
It can’t be fun to play during a downpour, but DJ Trixie Mattel persevered through the rain and pulled the tightest crowd we stood in all festival. Thousands of fans descended on the Coca-Cola Island Stage for an extremely memorable performance, featuring our favorite classic pop, disco, and gay anthems. We could just make out her wig across the crowd, but from our vantage point it looked like she was having as much fun as we were.
6. Oklou
Oklou may have taken the belairdirect Valley Stage a little late on Sunday afternoon, but she made the wait worth it. Marking a return to Montreal after a year of touring her PC-Music-tinged debut choke enough, Oklou and her glowing recorder brought up the energy with fan favorites “family and friends” and “take me by the hand”. Balancing intimate and sparse arrangements with throbbing basslines, this was one of the shows that left us in our feels while keeping us moving.
7. Zara Larsson
It seems like every few days, new clips from Zara Larsson’s Midnight Sun tour break new levels of virality on social media. Setting the stage for Lorde’s headlining performance (more on that below), Larsson’s summery set broke the clouds and offered a much needed break to the crowds. Opening and closing with the title track (ft. the vocal riff heard around the globe), Zara kept the energy at a 10 from start to finish.
8. Lorde
Lorde closed the festival on the River Stage, back at Parc Jean-Drapeau for the first time since her 2017 headline slot. Opening with an excerpt of the track that started it all, “Royals”, the New-Zealander continued with a through-mixed set that pulled from her last four albums, including her recent project Virgin. The last time we caught Lorde, she was in Solar Power mode—sundials, linens, and an acoustically-driven sound. This performance couldn’t have been more different—3D-mapped projections, athletic wear, and an angular, modernist set that spoke to her new headspace.
Nineteen editions in, OSHEAGA can put Trixie Mattel and Brutalismus 3000 on the same weekend as Lorde and Tate McRae and get all four right. Make sure to check back in to Nexus Radio for more in-depth coverage of the world’s hottest music festivals!
