General Info

Osheaga is a unique and eclectic music and arts festival staged in the breath-taking environs of Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène, an island of tranquility set in the middle of the bustle of one of North America’s most exciting cities. The festival was inaugurated in 2006 with the intention of offering a world-class European-style festival to Canadians and to showcase Montreal’s acclaimed local talent alongside some of the industry’s biggest names. The artist line-up was designed to present a mix of today’s most avant-garde emerging artists juxtaposed against those internationally known artists who appeal to the most discerning music lover. The festival founders also sought to provide fans with an unparalleled experience by offering them the best music, the best food and concessions, an eco-conscious approach, and by limiting the corporate presence to those who contribute to the spirit of the festival.

In its first two years, Osheaga has been an unqualified success, attracting over 40,000 music fans to sets by Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, The Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, k-os, Malajube, Patrick Watson, The Smashing Pumpkins, Arctic Monkeys, Gotan Project, Bloc Party and Feist, among others. Influence Magazine praised the festival: “Excellent bands, an ambiance to make other festivals green with envy, social and environmental consciousness…a superb music and arts festival.” “Osheaga succeeds in concocting a program that is at once eclectic and cohesive”, observed La Presse.

Osheaga takes place in Parc-Jean Drapeau on Ile Ste-Hélène; an island of tranquility set in the middle of the bustle of one of North America’s most exciting cities. Ile Ste-Hélène is located just off the island of Montréal. This beautiful site is a mixture of rolling pasture and forested areas accented by flowerbeds and open-air artwork brought to the island for Montreal’s Expo ’67. Osheaga’s 4 stages are spread out against this unique and beautiful back-drop!

The Osheaga site has numerous gravel paths that are navigable by wheelchair.  Osheaga offers a platform reserved for concert goers in wheelchairs near the main stages (Rivière and Montagne). Those who have access to the platform are allowed to bring one (1) guest as company on it. A wheelchair accessible toilet is reserved at this location for those using the platform.

Osheaga doors open at 1:00pm with performances beginning at 2:00pm. Performances end at 11:00pm.

Artists perform anywhere from 30 minute sets for emerging artists to 90 minute-plus sets for the festival headliners. A full schedule of artist set times will be available on Osheaga.com in the weeks prior to the festival. Please join our mailing list in order to be the first to know when the schedule is made public.

A full schedule of artist set times will be available on Osheaga.com in the weeks prior to the festival. Please join our mailing list in order to be the first to know when the schedule is made public. Festival headliners are the last to play on each given day, and hit the stage between 9:00pm and 9:30pm (subject to change).

Osheaga is an all-ages event. Children aged 10 years and younger are admitted for free when accompanied by an adult with a valid Osheaga ticket.

The legal drinking age in Quebec is 18 years old. If you are planning on consuming alcohol at the festival, please bring two (2) valid pieces of ID and be sure to drink responsibly.

Osheaga is home to a wide array of food vendors covering festival staples (burgers, etc) to delicious and exotic ethnic foods. Beverages from water to beer and other spirits can be purchased on site.

The legal drinking age in Quebec is 18 years old. If you are planning on consuming alcohol at the festival, please bring two (2) valid pieces of ID and be sure to drink responsibly.

Osheaga festival goers may bring a clear plastic water bottle with them on site, and water refill stations will be provided. Festival goers may be asked to empty their bottle before entering the festival. No alcohol may be brought from outside of the festival.

There are several vendors on site offering a wide assortment of great merchandise such as t-shirts and other garments, music, jewelry, artwork, and a whole lot more. Osheaga artist clothing, CDs, and official Osheaga gear will be available at the Osheaga merch tents.

Lost and found is located at the Osheaga coat check at the festival gates. All lost items are to be turned over to Parc Jean-Drapeau after the festival. Please contact Parc Jean-Drapeau for all lost and found queries:

Phone: 514 872-6120
Fax: 514 872-5691
Email: clientele@parcjeandrapeau.com

Osheaga takes a number of volunteers as they are essential to putting on an event of this scale. Please visit our volunteers page (in the Contact Us section), and fill out the online form to be considered for a volunteer position at Osheaga.

Osheaga is open to sponsorships that fit with the spirit of the festival. Potential sponsors are asked to contact us here.

Interested in vending at Osheaga? Please download our vendor application form here, Osheaga – Vendor Submission.

Those interested in covering the Osheaga music and arts festival are asked to fill out our Media Accreditation Form by clicking here. Media accreditation requests will be answered in the week prior to the festival. The deadline for media accreditation requests is one week before the festival. Requests submitted less than one week before the festival will be disregarded. 

The deadline has passed for band submissions to Osheaga 2008. Please visit us again for info on how to submit an artist for Osheaga 2009.

If you are interested in having your work displayed at Osheaga, please email us at arts@osheaga.com. Please be sure to include “ARTS” in your subject title, your contact information in the body of the email, and a link to or jpeg of an example of your work.  Please note that only artists who are chosen to present at Osheaga are contacted.

While fun and great entertainment is a definite priority at Osheaga, it is important to be respectful of your surroundings, other festival goers, and festival staff to ensure that every Osheaga-goer has the time of their life. That being said, please follows these guidelines while attending Osheaga:

> Please make an effort to recycle/throw out all litter. No one likes a dirty festival site!

> Please be polite to festival staff and festival-goers (though crowds congregate around the stages, please do not push your way through crowds, cut into lines, etc)

> Respect Parc Jean-Drapeau and the Osheaga site. Please leave the site as you find it upon entering Osheaga. Do not remove signs, banners, or posters from the festival site.  Do not climb or damage trees, sculptures, etc.

> Respect the art. Several pieces of art are displayed throughout the festival site. Do not touch or move the art!  Those who tamper with the art may be ejected from festival grounds.

Medical staff will be present on site.  Please be sure to bring all prescribed medication you may need and avoid putting yourself in harm’s way.  While it’s important to have fun, please monitor your consumption of alcohol, and be sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and juices throughout the day.  Make sure to take breaks from the sun if needed. There are plenty of trees for shade on the Osheaga site, so please take advantage of them.

> Clear plastic water bottles
> Small beach towels
> Waterproof ponchos / small umbrellas
> Small back packs and bags/ purses (Note: all bags will be searched)
> Small foldable chairs (if its big enough for a basketball to fit under, its too big)
> Sunscreen
> Lighters/Cigarettes
> Digital Camera (non-professional, i.e. no removable lens)
> Disposable cameras (non-professional)

The following can be found on site:
> Toilets
> Food kiosks
> Beer
> Juice
> Water bottles
> Recycling bins

> Alcoholic beverages (brought from outside)
> Illegal Drugs and drug paraphernalia
> Glass bottles and cans
> Rigid Thermos, coolers or other such containers
> Megaphones
> Fireworks
> Beach balls, soccer balls, etc…
> Skateboards
> Animals (except Guide dogs)
> Large back packs (camping style)
> Tents
> Video Equipment
> Professional photo equipment (SLR cameras, i.e. removable lens cameras)
> Audio Recording equipment
> No items intended for sale/promotion
> Any object that can be used to cause bodily harm

Items that are on the disallowed list will be confiscated. We recommend not bringing them to the festival site at all to save you the extra hassle! Please do not bring anything that could be dangerous to other festival-goers, as they will be confiscated.