The countdown is on! Only two more days until I board a smelly bus at six in the morning in my attempt to get to Jean Drapeau Park in time to see The Walkmen. High hopes this one has. As the excitement for the festival builds, here is a playlist and preview of what thousands upon thousands of happy ears will be feasting upon.
This post will be broken up in three, as the festival has now expanded to three days now. If you are reading this and wondering what the hell “Osheaga” is, well here’s a quick breakdown.
Osheaga came to fruition in 2006, when Montreal decided it wanted to be more awesome than it already was. 2006 was also the year the shortlived Virgin Music Festival came to Toronto. Osheaga obviously lasted longer. Growing in size every year, but only have ever been a two day long festival, last year Osheaga’s popularity allowed it to begin on the Friday afternoon. Now in 2012, Osheaga is three full days long, sees sponsors from Virgin Mobile, Blackberry, hosts the same caliber bands that hit the festival circuit, and has seen the likes of Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Eminem, Sonic Youth, Iggy and the Stooges and more, grace their main stages. Osheaga is also host to many up and coming bands, offering a wide variety of music in a quieter setting (Parc Jean-Drapeau is gorgeous to say the least).
So here’s the playlist, who out of these I will see, and who I will heart-breakingly miss is still up in the air!
1) Charli XCX – U.K. Electronic “Dark Wave”, sounds promising.
2) The Walkmen – Still going strong after 10 years, NYC gritty indie. Makes you want to hit a dimly lit basement bar.
3. Yukon Blonde – a band name that invokes the thought of beer, Vancouverites that pump out great Canadian indie rock.
4. Fun. – Well it’s in their name, so they must be right? Breakout hit We Are Young, many will see just for this.
5. Freelance Whales – Saw these guys a couple of years ago, really fun poppy music.
6. Bombay Bicycle Club – Another UK export, extremely energetic indie pop. Also, Wikipedia declares them from “Crouch End”, London, which is just a cool as name.
7. Of Monsters and Men – Icelandic folk pop, already on the fast track to mainstream, great for camping or anything involving a bonfire.
8. Dum Dum Girls – legit the real deal, think The Pretenders, hints of old Mazzy Star with their own fresh twist.
9. Gary Clark Jr – Blues God, of our decade, as I have proclaimed him.
10. Franz Ferdinand – If you don’t know well… listen to them. Making music to dance to for 8 years, these Scots are still going strong.
11. The Weeknd – Having reached international success, Toronto’s own will have the entire crowd grooving smoothly.
12. Atlas Sound – Bradford Cox, lead vocalist of Deerhunter’s side project is as melodic and dreamy as Deerhunter.
13. Florence and the Machine – With vocals this flawless, Florence Welch makes it look so effortless. Source of inspiration for many American Idol contestants.
14. Sigur Ros – Making a comeback that no fan can ignore, emerging from their hiatus with new acclaimed album makes for an unmissable tour.
15.Justice – France electronic outfit are guaranteed to make us dance nonstop during their headlining set.
For a full list of Friday’s schedule check out the website.