Osheaga Three Day Recap

Haim at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Osheaga Festival. Photo by Robyn Homeniuk

Day One – Friday August 1st 2014

The first day of the fest is usually a learning experience, but the maps and large amount of signage at Osheaga helped me avoid spending too much time orienting myself. There were many amazing acts from The Royal Streets and Bleachers in the early afternoon to Chromeo, Mac DeMarco and Outkast in the evening. I even took a short pause to eat some tasty poutine. Favourite Part of Day One: Foster The People tied with Old Crow Medicine Show Least Favourite Part of Day One: Paying the 3.50$ service charge at the ATM due to lack of cash.

Outkast at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Sam Roberts at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Bleachers at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Childish Gambino at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Old Show Medicine Crow at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Foster The People at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Outkast at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Poutine at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Day Two – Saturday August 2nd 2014

For me, the second day had the least amount of bands on my “must-see” list. This gave me a chance to really get to experience other parts of the festival that I might not have otherwise. For starters, there were artists decorating “Osheaga” signs beautifully, and there were also different activities around the park. After some exploring, it was clear what all the artists were saying was true – everyone at the festival was beautiful in more ways than just physical beauty. There was a lot of passion in everyone on the Osheaga grounds. While this remains mostly true, there were an overwhelming number of “bros” at the festival this year. Honestly, I accidentally got caught in the middle of a bro-pack in a mosh pit and I’ve felt more awkward –- because I so clearly did not belong in their little group and they didn’t like me intruding. Favourite Part of Day Two: Haim’s performance tied with seeing fireworks explode over the Jacques Cartier bridge as SBTRKT played – an oh so Montreal moment. Least Favourite Part of Day Two: Too much down time

Artists at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Haim at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Young & Sick at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

SBTRKT at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Haim at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Royal Canoe at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

The Crowd After Haim Asked People To Get On Shoulders at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Day Three – Sunday August 3rd 2014

Very much the opposite of the second day, the last day of Osheaga held a long list of bands I had to see. I spent the day going from stage to stage enjoying as much of every artist that I could. From The Kooks and Bombay Bicycle Club in the morning to crowd surfing during “R U Mine?” as the Arctic Monkeys closed the 2014 festival, I wish that I could have had as much enjoyment every day of the festival. Despite the great fandom I have for Arctic Monkeys, their performance lacked their usual spark and there was not enough diversity in the set list. This year’s lineup could have been better organized over the three days, but with Lollapalooza (Chicago) also happening the same weekend I can understand most of the artists would be spending time at both festivals. Favourite Part of Day Three: Checking crowd surfing off my bucket list, and to one of my favourite groups no less. Least Favourite Part of Day Three: Missing Cherub and The Temper Trap because they played at the same time as other artists I wanted to see.

Arctic Monkeys at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Arctic Monkeys at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

The Kooks at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

CHVRCHES’ Crowd at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Arctic Monkeys at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

The Replacements at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Matt Mays at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Lorde at Osheaga Festival, Montreal. Photo By Robyn Homeniuk.

Next year if I do go to Osheaga, I will be buying a VIP pass — they have amazing food, more drinks, and great locations in front of the main stages reserved for VIP. It seems worth it, and it would definitely require less recovery time compared to attending the festival otherwise. If you want to share your experiences, memories, and photos of Osheaga with Robyn, send her a message at [email protected].