One of pop music's biggest breakouts stole the show at Montreal's Osheaga Music & Arts Festival last Saturday (August 3). It's rare to see festival grounds packed at 3:30 in the afternoon – especially on a heat warning day – but for Chappell Roan's festive queer pop, fans were willing to brave the heat.
She was booked for the festival last fall, but since then, the Midwest Princess has soared in popularity, opening for Olivia Rodrigo and landing six songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Her afternoon reception felt out of place with her current stature, but Chappell he made the most of it, turning in a performance that hit harder than Green Day's headline set later that night.
The set followed a similarly frenzied performance at Lollapalooza two days earlier that reportedly broke attendance records. At one point, Chappell made an honest mistake that also reminded the crowd where she should be in the lineup. “Tonight, we're going,” he began – before remembering it was afternoon.
“It's the only reason we're here today,” said a Montreal fan named Maria. He discovered Roan a year and a half ago on TikTok and said he was touched during “Pink Pony Club.” “It's great to have everyone here,” added Maria, “we're here for the same reason: to support an amazing queer artist and live in each other's queer joy.”
More than 147,000 music fans flock to Parc Jean-Drapeau for three days of Osheaga – the festival's second-highest crowd in its 17 years. Fans flocked to see sets from acts like SZA, Green Day and Noah Kahan, creating a big-ticket atmosphere. It was also hampered by the later revelation of a tragedy, with a festival goer found drowned in the Olympic Basin at Parc Jean-Drapeau after leaving the Osheaga grounds. A death investigation is underway.
Other highlights included the unhinged Canadian musician TALK (who is especially big in Quebec), a rain-delayed set from British singer RAYE, a charismatic performance from Tyla, and a Hozier for an excited audience in which he called for a break fire and “a Palestine free from occupation”. -Rosie Long Decter
Shaboozey hits 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100
Someone give him a double shot of whiskey: Shaboozey just hit a chart milestone in Canada.
The Virginia singer reached his tenth week at the top of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy). The song is also at the top in the US, though for just its fourth week.
Shaboozey
Daniel Prakopcyk
In Canada, it's the clear song of the summer. Having been briefly knocked off the top spot by Morgan Wallen and Post Malone's 'I Had Some Help' and then Eminem's 'Houdini', 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' has held the spot consecutively since the week of 22 June.
It's perhaps an unusual candidate for song of the summer, less bouncy and upbeat than Sabrina Carpenter's “I Had Some Help” or “Espresso.” But “A Bar Song” has a folky sound that always sounds good in Canada, and a thematic depth that helps it resonate.
The song interpolates J-Kwon's 2004 hip hop track “Tipsy”, replacing its synth line with an acoustic guitar strum. Shaboozey turns a hype club track into a brooding country anthem about working too hard and not making it. It's no surprise that “A Bar Song” is widely connected amid a cost-of-living crisis.
(It also helps that one of Shaboozey's main challengers for US song of the summer, Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us,” isn't as popular in Canada, for obvious reasons).
The 10-week feat adds to Shaboozey's list of accomplishments in a year that saw him join Beyonce's Cowboy Carter and is set to headline a North American tour for the first time. He will play Toronto on September 13th and Quebec City on September 14th. –RLD
MRG Group and Paquin Entertainment Group are hiring new executives
Canadian venue management, concert promotion and hospitality company MRG Group has announced its hiring Robyn Kassor as manager and senior talent buyer.
Based in Montreal, he joins the company from Just For Laughs where he spent the past 18 years, most recently holding the position of festival representative overseeing the company's festivals in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
The company produces 1100+ shows annually in North America, selling approximately 500,000 tickets. The company also owns and operates six venues, including The Vogue and Queen Elizabeth theaters in Vancouver and Adelaide Hall in Toronto.
Paquin Entertainment Group, meanwhile, announced the appointment of a media and television executive Andrew Ackman as its chief operating officer.
Based in Toronto, Akman is expected to leverage the company's status as a global multi-platform entertainment business to produce large-scale events, exhibitions and theater, film and television productions. According to the Aug. 6 announcement, Paquin is currently in development on several talent-based projects for broadcasters, streaming platforms and live audiences. Akman has held senior roles at Cineflix Media, Shaw Media, Canwest Media, Alliance Atlantis Communications and co-founded television production company Husk Media.
Paquin Entertainment Group, led by Gilles Paquinhas 45 years of experience managing and representing talent and producing film, television, theater and immersive shows. Akman's appointment follows Paquin's acquisition of APA's Canadian arm as it continues to build momentum, now representing more than 350 artists.
Paquin, Chairman & CEO of Paquin Entertainment Group, said: “Andrew's media and entertainment expertise and entrepreneurial spirit make him an ideal fit for Paquin as we continue to expand the reach and scale of our global businesses in artist representation, immersive exhibits, live events, brand collaborations and theatre, film and television.”
[Billboard Canada has a strategic partnership with Paquin.] -David Farrell
