Features

Bad luck doesn’t begin to describe what hit the organizers of the Palomosa Festival.

First the emails to ticket holders telling then they could bring a +1 for free. Then the wave of discount ticket prices in bulk for McGill students. And finally the forecast of heavy rain for the second of the festival’s two days.

But worst of all, Kali Uchis, the coup of a headliner Palomosa got for its second day, pulled out only a few days before the festival commenced, with little to suggest that it was due to anything other than low ticket sales.

Every Montrealer has their conceptions about Osheaga. The idea of getting to Ile St Helene at the peak of summer’s heat, with massive crowds of people to see live music could easily be a heaven or hell situation. If you’re one of those people leaning toward the hell side, I challenge you to read to the end of this article to see if I can convince you otherwise. 

If you are a true Montrealer, you’re probably exhausted by the time you are reading this. Between the extremes of the seasons and non-stop access to shows, concerts, festivals, movies, it feels like we can just never stop. Living in this city sometimes feels like you have a shiny all-access pass to an amusement park. You want to make the most of everything so you try to cram all the fun into one day. And perhaps the most anticipated ride of them all? The dazzling, neon roller coaster Osheaga, complete with loops, dives and upside-down twists and turns. Ready and waiting for you at the end of the summer.

SXSW had a different feeling this year as artists pulled out of the festival in support of Palestine; Raytheon, a weapons company, had events at the festival, and though the rest of the artists came because of the opportunity SXSW provides them, some expressed that they do not support the US providing weapons to Israel and demanded a cease fire.

CJLO has been heading down to the SXSW festival since 2016 with only the pandemic preventing us from going back. In the planning stages before the festival, there was a renewed sense of energy and excitement for us to platform CJLO to a higher stage. The excitement came to a stop when the team learned that this year the festival was being sponsored by the US Army and by Collins Aerospace (a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, previously known as Raytheon). With that knowledge, there was a shift in our hearts and soon everything began to shift around us as well. 

It’s been 5 years since I last went to SXSW and I am excited to get back to this cool city and awesome festival. There are a lot of artists this year that I do not recognize which is what is going to make this festival fun as I am sure there will be a lot of cool discoveries. Here are some artist I see in the lineup that I want to check out.

This year, the team at CJLO is returning to SXSW in Austin, Texas for the first time since 2019! With a festival where the whole world seems to meet over the span of just 9 days, where does one even begin?

We here at CJLO want to bring the best new talent back to you here at the station! As Head Music Director, I’ve meticulously analyzed and dissected the schedule to find the most exciting performances, talks, and special events!