Osheaga Music and Arts Festival 2023 review: Artists, lineup

Festival season is in full swing.

To celebrate, we headed to Montreal, Quebec for the annual Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on Aug. 4-6 to join the masses for three days of non-stop music with over 50 artists performing over the long weekend.

Here are just a few of our biggest takeaways from the multi-day extravaganza.

The Music

Our favorite moment was easily Billie Eilish’s Saturday night headlining set that came with quite the surprise.

Mid-show, the 21-year-old pop star paused to ask fans if they knew of a certain song…one that went something like, “Glock tucked, big t-shirt, Billie Eilish?”

Enter Armani White.

The rapper behind the mega single, “Billie Eilish,” joined Billie on stage to sing the iconic song together.

Fans began screaming once White appeared out of seemingly thin air. After the duet, Eilish noted that it was the first time they’d ever met.

Other mega stars on the bill lit up Montreal all weekend long.

Rüfüs Du Sol and Kendrick Lamar headlined the other two nights entertaining over 75,000 festival-goers in the process.

For our money, the best sets came from Lil Yachty, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Flaming Lips, The National and Kim Petras.

Osheaga clearly doesn’t play by the rules when it comes to genre — they only care about bringing great music and they delivered all weekend long.

Vibe check

By our estimation, the festival atmosphere was over the top, to say the least. Everywhere you looked, there were constant interactive opportunities. Some of our favorites included the impressive Coca-Cola rooftop and the trippy live paintings near the performers.

All six music stages were constantly in motion, too. Fans weaved in and out, buzzing from one performer to the next. This was a fest in constant flux.

Many came dressed in their festival best. Let’s just say, we saw quite a bit of glitter and rhinestones. “Less is more” was also a popular pick.

As for cuisine, poutine was the crowd pleaser (to no surprise).

The verdict

Overall, Osheaga was a fun and busy weekend with incredible headliners and even better vibes.

If you’re looking for a smaller Coachella both in size and price tag (!) this is a great option.

Huge music festivals in 2023

If you didn’t make it out to Osheaga this year, there are a ton of other options for you these next few months.

Personally, we recommend keeping an eye out on these five fests with lineups so bomb you’ll be kicking yourself for missing them live.

The biggest 2023 festivals
Catbird Music Festival Aug. 19-20 at the Bethel Woods Center For The Arts The Lumineers, Tyler Childers, Trey Anastasio Band, The War On Drugs, Band Of Horses
Bourbon and Beyond Music Festival Sept. 14-17 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY Bruno Mars, The Killers, Brandi Carlile, The Black Keys, Duran Duran
Life Is Beautiful Festival Sept. 22-24 at the Life Is Beautiful Grounds in Las Vegas, NV Kendrick Lamar, The Killers, Odesza, The 1975, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Power Trip Oct. 6-8 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA AC/DC, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Tool
One Musicfest Oct. 28-29 at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, GA Kendrick Lamar, Janet Jackson, Brent Faiyaz, Megan Thee Stallion, Nelly

Looking for even more multi-day jams? Check out our guide to 2023’s hottest festivals here.