8 Can’t-Miss Artists at Festival D’été de Quebec 2015

By: Daniel Gerichter (@ZenDonut) –

With gargantuan headliners that cascade into a thoroughly eclectic supporting cast, the 2015 edition of Festival D’été de Quebec (July 9 – 19) looks like one of the summer’s best music festivals. The sheer breadth of the lineup is staggering. Festival D’été de Quebec has stacked their 2015 line-up with summery pop, mellow uke-strummers, hip-hop bangers, pulsing EDM beats and the densest power chords. Got a ticket? Here’s a few suggestions to help you fill out your festival itinerary.

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The Rolling Stones
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Come on. Seriously. We shouldn’t have to say this, but in the age of “I don’t care about mainstream shit”, you might make the mistake of skipping over the Rolling Stones, and you’d just be so wrong. Festival D’été de Quebec has stacked their line-up with iconic artists – and that’s all well and good – but they owe Jagger, Richards et al a huge debt. If you’re not familiar with their material, no worries. One live rendition of “Gimme Shelter” is all you need to become a lifelong fan. If you’ve seen them before – see them again. And if you’ve been meaning to see them but never have – count your blessings. You are lucky enough to witness one of the greatest rock shows in history.

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Royal Blood
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Currently laying absolute waste to the Foo Fighters’ opening slot, the UK’s Royal Blood are 100 kilotons of furious, riff-filled rock and roll. Do not miss this set.

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Primus & the Chocolate Factory
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How do we explain this? Primus’ classic lineup is back! They’re back, and REALLY into Roald Dahl. Instead of touring classics like Pork Soda, the band went back into the studio to create Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble, a re-imagining of the soundtrack to 1971’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. To really drive this obsession home, the band will be giving out Willy Wonka themed chocolate bars at the show. So unless you are literally inside Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, you would be committing a grievous error not catching this set.

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Failure
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One-off band reunions are great, but it’s even better when they stick around a while. Failure, a favourite during the nineties, first reunited in 2013 and have kept it together ever since, even releasing a (highly recommended) new albumThe Heart is a Monster earlier this year.

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Run the Jewels
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Look: stop being a fuckboy. Throw up the gun/chain with every other rational human being at the festival and catch the best live act in hip-hop today.

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Kiesza
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We’re now in act three of the Kiesza story – you know, the part where she conquers the world. With Juno wins, massive airplay and a showstopper of a performance at this year’s Coachella, the Calgary-born singer is one-act we should all be proud to call our own.

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Zappa Plays Zappa
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In the same way there’ll never be another Elvis Presley or Jimi Hendrix, there will never be another Frank Zappa. Luckily, his son Dweezil carries quite a hefty chunk of his talent and musical legacy. If you missed out on Frank’s genius (he died 22 years ago), this is a pretty great way to play catch-up.

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Jack Ü (Skrillex & Diplo)
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Yeah, yeah. You don’t like EDM because it isn’t “real music”. Whatever. Give Jack Ü a try anyway. Two of the genre’s most kinetic artists (Skrillex and Diplo) are actually pretty damn adept musicians and have made some pretty exciting tracks with artists like Missy Elliott and Kiesza (pretty much a lock for a surprise appearance).