Before launching in to the shows, members of the media had an opportunity to speak with Nick Farkas, co-founder of Osheaga and senior vice-president of programming for Evenko, the promoters of the fest. He underlined that Osheaga’s main goal after the pandemic was the same as before: to book bands that are fundamentally good live acts and great at festivals, ensuring a Quebec contingent (French and English) . It’s to “create and experience and a community”, explained Farkas; “to take care of each other with the shared goal of discovery of music”. It was hard not to agree that that festival provided a bit of a cathartic experience after what Farkas called “years of crap”.

Throughout the weekend, different performers seemed to keep this in mind. UK neosoul singer Mahalia exhorted that there was a “sense of magic in the air” in between songs that showcased her vocal chops and clever sense of humour. She had the whole crowd on her side and singing along to the coy and catchy “I Wish I Missed My Ex”. Performing right up to the last second of her allotted time, the audience would have clearly liked her to keep going.

In keeping with Osheaga’s penchant for scheduling different genres one after the other on their side-by-side stages, the next act was Ireland’s Inhaler. Let’s get this out of the way first: this is Bono’s son’s band. And yep. Lead singer Elijah Hewson does sound exactly like his dad, which is not a bad thing. It’s hard not to listen for every little element that sounds even remotely like the bass of Adam Clayton, the solos of the Edge, the drums of Larry Mullen Jr., and, especially, those darned vocals. Whether or not they are trying, the band channels that driving guitar sound of early U2 (think War and The Unforgettable Fire), on tracks like “We Have to Move On” and “These are the Days”. Hewson belted out “It Won’t Always Be Like This” on the band’s most popular track, and the audience sang along. Maybe he’s right: maybe the comparisons to one of the biggest bands in the world won’t always happen, but it’s doubtful.

Osheaga serves up some difficult choices, and one of those was between Quebec City’s Safia Nolin and Norway’s girl in red. Thankfully it was possible to catch some of Nolin’s unique, haunting vocals alongside the heavy guitar that seems inspired by Disintegration-era Cure while walking from one side of the tree-filled Osheaga site to the other. Shade is definitely a plus at this festival! Marie Ulven, otherwise known as girl in red, was already well into her bulldozer of a set, jumping, running and riling up the crowd to fever pitch with singalongable songs like “i wanna be your girlfriend” and “did you come?”. Big on banter, Ulven called Elon Musk “a lunatic” and underlined that she’s free to say whatever she wants.

Running back to the other set of stages to catch Lucy Dacus was worth it just to see an incredibly enthusiastic young fan, a girl right at the front hanging on every word Dacus said and passionately singing along. As the perfectly warm sun set, Dacus sang her excellent and oh-so-unique cover of Cher’s “Believe”. The orange light behind clouds became an ideal backdrop for the gorgeous “Night Shift”, once again demonstrating that the music at Osheaga matched exactly with the weather.

And then came the highlight of the day: Wet Leg. The band of the moment’s Canadian debut was triumphant, even though the Isle of Wight-hailing duo of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers announced that visa issues prevented one of their touring band members (multi-instrumentalist Josh Mobaraki) from attending. Drawing perhaps the biggest audience at the smallest stage of the fest, the leafy venue was a perfect location: Teasdale commented on the pinky colour of the sky (“like a mixed slushie”) and talked about camping as a teenager (“looking at the stars and being bored”). Wet Leg is the opposite of boring: impossibly witty and catchy songs like “Being in Love” and “Wet Dream” gave way to constant impromptu clapping, dancing, and jumping in unison – especially from the kids in the crowd. And kids know what makes a good hook. Culminating with their viral hit “Chaise Longue”, one can only hope that Wet Leg come back to Montreal – and soon.

The biggest crowd of the weekend were drawn to Machine Gun Kelly (who overstayed his time and was cut off) followed by Dua Lipa. Adequately shiny and sparkly in the sheer pants that appeared to reflect an overwhelmingly popular outfit choice at the festival as a whole, Lipa sashayed through her monster hits with ease. It was nice, however, to exit the festival past the mighty Halluci Nation, whose music and accompanying dancer held a smaller, yet just as passionate, crowd in their thrall.

In the aftermath of over two years of limited live music, what is the role of a monster festival like Osheaga? Is it possible for an event that attracts over a 100,000 people to provide those individual moments that are the basis of what makes live performance so special? The answer is a vehement yes. Onwards to next year.