It was an imperial Kendrick Lamar who put an end to the 16th Osheaga Festival, the busiest in its history. A total of 155,000 people came to celebrate music over three days at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
With unflappable assurance, the Compton, Calif.-based MC dipped into his extensive discography to deliver hits and newer tracks to a monster crowd already energized by Fred again..’s performance on the next stage just before.
Wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers cap, but featuring his media company pgLang, and dressed in a black jacket, huge pink shorts and Nike Cortez, Kendrick Lamar hit it hard from the start with the extraordinary N95 from Mr. Morale
Note that the sound quality was exceptional. You could recognize the music played by real musicians, but they remained invisible. Naive art murals on vast sheets, which followed one another throughout the show, took up the entire back of the stage. Seven similarly dressed dancer-comedians wearing Kendrick Lamar masks occupied the space in different – sometimes bizarre – ways alongside the rapper.
After Swimming Pools (Drank) and M.A.A.d city, Kendrick returned to DAMN. to perform Loyalty, DNA – our favorite of the evening – and Humble.
Mr. Duckworth’s performance of just over an hour concluded with favorites Money Trees, Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe and Alright.
We were treated to an impeccable, albeit minimalist, performance from an artist at the top of his game. The second part felt slightly weaker to us, but that’s possibly because the first one knocked us out.
“This was the biggest year in terms of ticket sales since the festival began,” said Nick Farkas, vice president, programming, concerts and events, evenko, during a press briefing on Sunday around 5 p.m. h.
Organizers said Saturday and Sunday were sold out at 54,000 people. There were 47,000 on Friday. “Even though it wasn’t sold out, it was one of the biggest days we’ve ever had,” said Nick Farkas. The headliners are a factor. The fact that on Sunday, we had Fred again.. and Cigarettes After Sex, which exploded in the last six months, then Baby Keem, on Saturday, who had never played in Montreal. The full line-up on Saturday and Sunday was stronger. In addition, everyone works on Fridays, which are usually less busy. »
We asked Nick Farkas what his favorites are. “I saw Aysanabee in front of 2000 people, but her voice is mind blowing. It was really fun to see Nelly Furtado, who has been here for two days, take to the stages everywhere. Armani White with Billie last night, that’s viral. This is the first time they have met. No one knew, even me. »
Regarding the future of the festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau, the vice-president of programming is optimistic. “I did a tour with the mayor [Valérie Plante] yesterday [Saturday]. Of course, the plan, for the entire island, creates challenges in terms of space, the area that we can use, but the desire of the park and the city is that we work together and find solutions, and that’s exactly what we did this year. […] I am very confident [for the future of Osheaga]. I am encouraged by the cooperation we have had this year. We had years where it was not always easy, but everyone wants to work together for the future. »
Central Cee is only 25 years old and his repertoire is still rather limited. Thus, to fill the 50 minutes planned for him on the stage of the Mountain, a DJ warmed up the crowd a good fifteen minutes before his arrival. Upon entering the stage, the Londoner immediately commanded the attention of the compact audience thanks to his incisive flow and his piercing gaze. Cench practices UK drill, a fast-paced form of rapping with very powerful base notes. Osheaga’s speakers rattled the floor and our rib cages. Already well known in the United Kingdom thanks to his microalbums No Nore Leaks and Split Decision, the latter made in collaboration with Dave, Oakley Neil H. T Caesar-Su, of his real name, gained many admirers following his recent freestyle with Drake. At the beginning of the course, Central Cee performed, among others, Little Bit of This and Commitment Issues. Fans were happy, but the majority of viewers – us included – found the set repetitive. Sprinter and especially Dojo later animated everyone, but the end came abruptly, when the energy was at its peak. The British rapper has a certain charisma, but we don’t quite give him the title of master of ceremonies yet.
