In Canada: Osheaga Festival Draws Near-Record Attendance With Tate McRae, Stella Lefty & More
Categoria: Musica
Also up north this week: A recap of this year's OVO Golf Classic and a high-profile departure from Departure.
Por Billboard | 07/08/2026
Osheaga’s 19th edition was one for the books. The three-day music and arts festival and Montreal just wrapped up its 19th year by logging one of its most successful editions, drawing its second-highest-ever attendance with over 151,000 fans. It’s proof that one of the biggest festivals in Canada continues to get even bigger, with two out of three nights fully sold out this year. Related Tate McRae Says Fans Know Where She Stands Politically: ‘I Think It’s Pretty Obvious What Kind of Person I Am’ BE:FIRST Is Ready for the World: Inside the J-Pop Superstars' Long-Planned U.S. Breakthrough Glenn A. Baker, Australian Music Historian and Former Billboard Correspondent, Dies at 74 Osheaga was Canada down this year, and Tate McRae helped make history. The Tate-headlined Saturday date (Aug. 1) was sold out nearly three weeks in advance, the fastest sellout ever for an individual day. The sales were largely driven by the Canadian hitmaker’s headlining slot and its massive hype. Evenko, the promoter behind the festival, already forecasted the sellout in May. McRae took the stage for her first-ever festival headline appearance in her home country while simultaneously becoming the first Canadian to headline the festival since Arcade Fire replaced the Foo Fighters in 2022, and The Weeknd headlined in 2017. The local spirit was remarkably high this year, with about 50% of this year’s crowd comprised of Quebec fans, up from about 40% last year. One of the weekend’s most anticipated moments came in the form of Quebec heroes Angine de Poitrine, who played a surprise set on Saturday. The band was booked in May, prior to their legendary record-setting set at Montreal Jazz Fest . They were saved as a last-minute surprise because sales were already steady, so they added some last-minute buzz. Osheaga initially soft-launched their appearance by including their name within the lineup on select merch pieces just one day prior to their performance, and later revealed them the following morning, giving ticketholders a guaranteed opportunity to see the world’s most viral band . The festival has proven its knack for booking bubbling acts right before they spike in popularity, and this year’s edition followed suit with that trend. Rising singer-songwriter Stella Lefty, who is currently charting in the top 5 of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Hot 100, filled up the Mountain stage during her ripe 3 pm set, and Malcolm Todd played the primary main stage after earning millions of new listeners in the past months, since the lineup first dropped. As nostalgia continues to blanket 2026, this year’s Osheaga was a full-circle edition including several throwbacks to its own programming from 10 years ago, including Lorde’s return as a headliner and other Osheaga alumni making their way back to Parc Jean-Drapeau. “Zara Larsson played in 201