Osheaga and Ilesoniq music festivals officially cancelled this year

Montreal — The mammoth Osheaga music festival, which brings millions into Montreal’s economy each summer, has been officially cancelled this year, along with smaller electronic music festival Ilesoniq.

Festival organizers made the announcement Tuesday, almost two months after the Quebec government asked that all outdoor summer festivals be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evenko, which runs both festivals, waited to make its announcement because it was “looking at all options,” said a spokesman—and because it wanted to book a preliminary Osheaga lineup for the next summer to give fans a taste of what to expect.

The musicians, however, weren’t ready to commit, said Philip Vanden Brande, a spokesman for Evenko.

“We were hoping we'd be able to announce a couple of artists, but unfortunately we were unable to do that,” he said.

Some of the Osheaga headliners booked for this year were Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Foo Fighters headline, Vampire Weekend, Lewis Capaldi, Bon Iver and Leon Bridges.

Evenko simply announced Tuesday that 2020 ticket-holders could either get refunds or would be offered benefits for holding onto their tickets until 2021, in the form of credits ranging from $20 to $50.

Last year, in its 14th edition, Osheaga hosted about 140,000 music fans across three days at its site at Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau.

Osheaga’s organizers say those fans create economic spinoffs worth $40 million for Montreal. Forbes Magazine listed it in 2016 as the seventh-highest-grossing music festival in the world, bringing in over $12 million in ticket sales alone.

The 15th Osheaga is now scheduled for July 30 and 31 and August 1, 2021.

“Our booking team is already working really hard to book 2021,” said Vanden Brande.

Ilesoniq is also held at Parc Jean-Drapeau and is in its seventh year.