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Beyond Our Boroughs
Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
They’re looking forward to Osheaga, too (Photo: ArcadeFire.com)
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New York City is an amazing place to live (eight million residents can’t be wrong), but sometimes you’ve just got to leave the five boroughs and explore the rest of New York—even the dreaded “upstate”—and its surrounding areas. “Beyond Our Boroughs” is a series of escapes from NYC that are easy to get to via bus, car or train. Or plane, if you’re rich.
The Event
The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, held in Montreal, began in 2006 with a solid lineup of bands like Sonic Youth, the Flaming Lips and Dinosaur, Jr.; this year, though, they’ve outdone themselves: Weezer, Pavement, the Black Keys, Devo, the Gaslight Anthem, Keane, Snoop Dogg, the National, Beach House and Jimmy Cliff are just a few of the over 50 bands playing at Osheaga. Oh, and a little-known Montreal-based group called Arcade Fire, whose new album, The Suburbs, was just called better than OK Computer by BBC, will be performing too. For my money, that’s the highlight of not just Osheaga, but of all the summer festivals.
But don’t worry, Sonic Youth is performing again, for that old school feel.
Here’s a full list of performers:
Other notes:
-They won’t gouge you for water. Concertgoers are allowed to bring in a clear plastic water bottle and refill stations will be provided. Might sound silly, but when you’re out in the sun for six hours and water costs $2 per bottle, you’ll be thankful for those mighty kind Canadians.
-If you’re reading this in Canada and plan on going to Osheaga, you can take the VIA Rail there and save 50%. Here’s how.
-Music from 1-11 p.m. on July 31 and August 1 not enough for you? There’s also Osheaga’s In the City, with performances from artists like Of Montreal, Chromeo and Neon Indian throughout Montreal. More information can be found here.
The Location
Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, which is only about six hours away from New York. Directions can be found here. Once in Montreal, though, you can travel by public transportation for free with an Osheaga ticket on July 31 and August 1. The “parc” is located off the Jean-Drapeau metro station on the yellow line (like the Q train, but not).
The Where-to-Stay
A list of nearby hotels can be found here. You should call ASAP, and be sure to ask about their “evenko” rate for Osheaga concert-goers only. You might save some dough.
The Tickets
For the amount of talent Osheaga has, tickets are pretty cheap. A general admission weekend pass only costs $120 (plus service charges), or $190 if you want reserved seating. A single day ticket goes for $65 general admission/$100 reserved.
The Reason(s) You Should Go
New York City has many great concerts, but very few quality festivals within driving distance. Most of the big names, like Coachella or Bonnaroo, require taking a plane. But Osheaga can be accessed via car or even Greyhound bus and it only takes about six hours. July 31 will also be the first tour date for Arcade Fire in support of The Suburbs, so that’s kind of a big deal, not to mention all the other quality bands that are performing. Plus, Canadians are super nice.
(Scene from last year’s Osheaga taken by Anirudh Koul, via Flickr)
Here are the artists Encore recommends seeing with minimal schedule overlaps:
July 31
The Walkmen, 1:30-2 p.m.
Owen Pallett, 2:10-2:55 p.m.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, 3:20-4 p.m.
Jimmy Cliff, 4-4:50 p.m.
Stars, 5:30-6:20 p.m.
Keane, 6:20-7:15 p.m.
Beach House, 7:15-8:05 p.m.
Pavement, 7:15-8:15 p.m.
The National, 8:15-9:15 p.m.
Arcade Fire, 9:30-11 p.m.
(Note: Beach House and Pavement play at the exact same time, leading to Osheaga’s version of Sophie’s Choice. Whichever one you don’t watch, please see them elsewhere, as they’re both playing in New York. Beach House opens for the National on July 27 at Prospect Park, and Pavement plays Williamsburg Waterfront on September 19 and Central Park September 21-24)
August 1
Seu Jorge and Almaz, 1:40-2:20 p.m.
The Gaslight Anthem, 3-3:40 p.m.
The Black Keys, 4:20-5 p.m.
The Morning Benders, 6-6:30 p.m.
Snoop Dogg, 6:35-7:35 p.m.
Sonic Youth, 8:15-9:05 p.m.
Weezer, 9:45-11 p.m.
(Note 2: We probably should reccomend Devo over Weezer, but there’s always the chance Rivers will decide to play something off Pinkerton that isn’t “El Scorcho,” however unlikely it may be. We want “Why Bother”!)