Patrick Guay, senior manager, booking, concerts and events at evenko, the team behind the wildly successful Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, is a diehard music fan that loves nothing more than live shows. The festival, August 1 – 3rd, only books performers that someone on their team has vetted.
It’s a music festival put together by music fans.
“If you’re nothing live, what good is it having you at the festival?” asks Guay, who says from the bottom to the top of his lineup — from Tyler, the Creator, the Killers, Shaboozey, Doechii, pictured above, and local stand-out Tallandskiiny — someone on his team has seen everyone taking his stage this weekend — and loved it.
“Every act we book is vetted so if you come to Osheaga, just know that every act someone with the festival has seen — and loved — that act live.”
Osheaga, at Parc-Jean Drapeau, a beautiful green space, is only a few subway stops away from Old Montreal and, in addition to their crazy three-day lineup, also has good local food and craft beers and cocktails, including an expanding list of non-alcoholic options.
At KIND, someone on our team has been to the festival every year, including our founder, who proposed at the show, and your editor has been there four times and loved each and every show more than the last.
Guay says that no matter how hot each lineup is, the team is always trying to top themselves.
“The last three years we’ve been selling out, but always we say, ‘Next year we have to make it better,’” Guay says, adding that one area where the festival’s improved is by setting up blocks of like-minded acts on stages. The goal is to create discovery at Osheaga — in addition to serving fans a steady diet of groups like The Chainsmokers and Cage the Elephant that they know audiences already love.
“We now build three-band arcs to give audiences further incentive to walk 40 minutes to a side stage if they know one of the groups in the build,” says Guay, who approaches his booking with the fan in mind — since he loves music and attends festivals even when he’s not working, him and his team are able to put themselves into the mind of the fan. “Booking a festival is never paint-by-numbers and you mix genres and moods if the feelings are right. What sets Osheaga apart is our love for the work, if that’s what you’d call it.” 
The Saturday of Osheaga is sold-out, but there are still tickets available to Friday and Sunday’s shows.
Guay told us on Friday to look out for Ekkstasy, Le Femme and Finneas, and we at KIND know that Ruby Waters, Olivia Rodrigo, pictured above, and the red-hot Beaches, are sure to kill it on Sunday. Our whole team will be there so if you see someone in a KIND hat at Osheaga, odds are we’ll be stinking of weed.
For tickets to Osheaga this weekend, while they last, click here.
