Dunlevy: Chappell Roan, Green Day among hottest moments of Osheaga weekend

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Chappell Roan won the weekend. The American pop phenomenon — or Femininomenon, as she has coyly branded herself — was the breakout star of the 17th Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, turning her 45-minute Saturday afternoon slot into what felt like a headlining performance. 

The weekend’s official headliners — Noah Kahan on Friday, Green Day on Saturday and SZA on Sunday — were all well worthy of their primo positions in the lineup. Saturday and Sunday were sellouts; Friday’s lineup drew slightly less, but you wouldn’t have known it from the delirious singalongs to Kahan’s heartfelt, shout-to-the-rooftops — or in this case, treetops — folk songs from his mostly female fans. 

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As it closes in on 20 years, Osheaga seems more in tune than ever with that fan base — the festival’s audience is 65 per cent female, with a similar percentage travelling from outside Quebec to attend the weekend. After a few years of reduced numbers between 2016 and 2020, followed by the pandemic — and after some editions way back when the party-hard bro quotient sometimes threatened to disrupt the breezy fun being had — the festival continues to adapt its programming and its site to suit its young demographic. 

Which brings us back to Roan. Booked last fall, when her star had not yet reached current meteoric heights, Roan was slotted for a pleasant but relatively uneventful afternoon slot. Fast-forward nine months and things done changed.

A sea of pink poured out of the métro as the clock ticked down to 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, with the Osheaga site welcoming a record crowd for such an early time slot. There were pink cowboy hats aplenty, and manifold variations on Roan’s cheerful cheerleader outfits. There was also a notable LGBTQ2+-friendly vibe to the moment and the day. 

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“Can you believe it? We’re at Osheaga!” Roan shouted. She dropped her smash hit Hot to Go! early on, leading fans in the YMCA-style, letter-by-letter dance moves that spell out the title. She skipped, kicked and bounded about the stage, her pink angel wings flapping gently behind her. 

Not only can we believe it, Chappell, but we believe you’ll be back — likely in one of those coveted headlining slots. 

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Speaking of hot hot heat, that was the other story of the weekend as fans braved temperatures over 30 C and crushing humidity with impervious good cheer.  

Others cursed. 

“It’s so f—ing hot! I feel disgusting!” Kahan joked Friday night.  

Foot traffic flowed smoothly on site, where the biggest bottlenecks were at water stations, bathrooms and food trucks. 

Friday highlights included New York alt-rock veterans Blonde Redhead entertaining a modest afternoon audience (Chappell Roan this was not) on the main River Stage, followed by manic rockers Mannequin Pussy on the adjoining Mountain Stage, and British soul singer Arlo Parks spreading joy as evening set at the back of the site on the Valley Stage. Tattooed Atlanta country-soul singer Teddy Swims raised a ruckus on the River Stage, followed by the Alice in Wonderland pixie-pop of Melanie Martinez, while British club kid Romy sang her heart out “for all my queers” on the Island Stage. 

I was joined for the weekend by my nephews Tenzin, 16, and Aonghus, 13, who a year ago were all about the rap acts. There was less hip-hop to go around at Osheaga this year. London grime MC Skepta entertained a medium-size crowd at the Valley Stage on Friday, while Miami’s Denzel Curry had bluster to spare on the Mountain Stage Saturday. Fellow Florida singer-rapper T-Pain won the good-vibes contest (and won over the nephews) hands down, however. The veteran performer dropped a flurry of hits as he brought the party to a sizable crowd at the Valley Stage Saturday evening. 

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But proof of the nephews’ expanding musical horizons — and Osheaga’s broad stylistic range — came from punk-pop royalty Green Day Saturday night. The legendary California rockers conquered the masses (and greatly impressed the nephews) by celebrating the anniversaries of two of their classic albums: the 30th of Dookie and the 20th of American Idiot. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong was a fireball of energy — heat be damned — leading the charge with irrepressible charisma and an impish grin. 

It was the culmination of Saturday’s musical history lesson, which began with ’90s rockers the Smashing Pumpkins and punk relics Rancid storming the main stages in the hours before. 

Check back here Sunday evening for more from Osheaga.

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