In Canada:​ From Gracie to Doechii, Osheaga Festival Books Music’s Biggest Stars Right Before They Break

It was the second night of Osheaga (Aug. 2), and Nick Farkas was kicking back after what he called “a nice dad rock set” of Whitney, Future Islands and TV On The Radio when his pocket suddenly vibrated.

“My phone started exploding out of nowhere,” he said. “I hailed down a golf cart and then ran straight to the meteorologist’s trailer.”

Osheaga’s founder and the senior VP of booking, concerts and events at Evenko, Farkas was quickly informed that a lightning storm was about to strike at any minute.

Gracie Abrams had already been playing for close to an hour when the skies opened up. Festivalgoers who had bought VIP access were rushing into the exclusive terrasses and searching for any spot where there might be shelter. Fans hid under tables and held stools over their heads, as they waited out the storm.

When it comes to booking a festival the size and scope of Osheaga, there’s a lot you can control — and a lot you can’t. One is the weather. Another is when an artist happens to break.

In some ways, the team at Evenko, the Quebec promoters behind the Montreal music festival, have gotten almost too good at predicting the next big thing.

Abrams wouldn’t have been playing that slot if not for her explosion over the last year. Farkas says the singer-songwriter was booked over a year and a half ago, originally to play in the earlier afternoon, but was elevated to sub-headliner status after her popularity as an opener on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour propelled a major breakthrough. Her hit “That’s So True” rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 last year. Ironically, she didn’t get to play it because of the rain.

It’s nothing new for Osheaga. Last year, Chappell Roan played in the heat of the mid-afternoon sun for what felt like the biggest set at the festival — including headliners.

“Sure, it would have been great to move her later, but I love the fact that there were 40,000 people there to see it,” says Farkas. “I love the fact that she played before Rancid. I love everything about it.”

Osheaga has become excellent at predicting who’s going to take over the Canadian charts even before it happens. Alex Warren has had the No. 1 hit on the Canadian Hot 100 for 17 weeks and counting with “Ordinary.” Similarly to Chappell Roan last year, he got to perform it early in the day for a crowd of young fans who had arrived early to hear it.

A previous long-running chart topper, Shaboozey, played his former No. 1 hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” twice in a row.

Then, there’s Doechii.

“We booked her right as she was blowing up,” says Farkas. “Now, she’s getting Grammys and really exploding.”

None of these artists were officially headliners. That designation went to The Killers, Tyler, The Creator and Olivia Rodrigo. But Evenko’s long-term booking has created value all throughout the lineup.

Read more on Osheaga’s unique booking strategy and how it became one of Canada’s biggest music festivals here. — Richard Trapunski

The Weeknd Sets a Record For Most Shows By a Canadian Artist at Toronto’s Rogers Centre

The Weeknd has made history in his hometown.

The artist born Abel Tesfaye has set a record for most shows by a Canadian artist at the Rogers Centre, the Toronto stadium that is also home to the Blue Jays. 

He also set a record for most shows at the venue by a male solo artist on the same tour. He’s played six shows there on the After Hours Til Dawn Tour, including two in 2022.

The Weeknd wrapped up four dates at the venue he still calls by its classic name, SkyDome — all sold out.

“We sold out the SkyDome, four nights. This is the last show,” he said last Friday, August 8, before launching into “Take My Breath.”

“I just have one favour to ask you. I want them to hear us all the way from Scarborough, all the way from Mississauga.”

It’s likely the Scarborough-born Tesfaye’s last hometown concert under the name The Weeknd, which he has teased he is retiring after this After Hours Til Dawn Tour. At these shows, which took place July 27-28 and August 7-8, he made his time in the city count.

On August 8, The Weeknd invited youth from the Boys and Girls Club of West Scarborough to join him backstage.

A few days earlier, on August 6, Tesfaye hosted a special Ethiopian coffee ceremony with his mother Samra and family in celebration of his Samra Origins collaboration with Nespresso.

The previous weekend, in advance of his first two shows, Tesfaye received the key to the city of Toronto from Mayor Olivia Chow. At the ceremony, he and Live Nation committed to support the Boys & Girls Club of West Scarborough, helping to revitalize the basketball court and bring a mobile recording studio to the organization that helped shape him. He’s also supporting Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute, helping to build a media arts and robotics computer lab, a dedicated dance and arts studio and a sensory room for students with developmental disabilities.

The Weeknd project began in Toronto 15 years ago, and it may be moving onto a new phase soon. In the meantime, Tesfaye made sure to give it a proper sendoff.

Read more here. — R.T.

Guess Who Is Coming Back? Randy Bachman & Burton Cummings Return With Their Classic Band Name

Guess Who is returning? 

For the first time in over twenty years, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, the principal songwriters of that legendary Winnipeg rock band, will be performing together as The Guess Who.

On January 31, 2026, the Guess Who will take the stage at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, with more shows to be announced soon.

Over the years, the dynamic duo of Bachman and Cummings have often performed together, as Bachman-Cummings, and played their classic Guess Who material, but not under that name, because of a long legal dispute with other former members of the band.

The long-standing dispute over the band name the Guess Who began in 1978 when former bassist Jim Kale (fired from the group in 1972) asked Cummings for permission to use the Guess Who name for a single reunion concert. That was given, but in 1987, Kale discovered that the name the Guess Who had never been trademarked, and he filed registration applications with the United States trademark office for the band name the Guess Who.

After securing that trademark, Kale assembled a band of other musicians, called them the Guess Who, and toured extensively under that name, until very recently. The resulting confusion over the name brought bitter feelings and an eventual lawsuit.

Last year, Billboard reported that the Guess Who settled the bitter trademark lawsuit in which two bandmates referred to a recent iteration of the group as nothing more than a ‘cover band.’ Under the deal, Bachman and Cummings said they will acquire full control over the trademark to the band’s name.

The case of the Guess Who is now often cited as an example of the importance of properly trademarking a band name. In a guest column in Billboard Canada, Canadian entertainment lawyer Chad Finkelstein observed that “For musicians, stage names are extremely important – and also surprisingly fragile. In the case of the Guess Who, souring personal and creative relationships have had legal ramifications because of a lack of protections.

“For musicians, a stage name or band name is not just a label, but a symbol of the artist’s persona, style and the emotional connection they create with their audience. It’s often the cornerstone of their brand identity.”

Read more here. — Kerry Doole