Foo Fighters canceled all of their scheduled 2022 tour dates after the tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, leaving vacant headlining slots at festivals like Montreal’s Osheaga, where they were set to close out the first night. This morning, organizers announced hometown indie rockers Arcade Fire are stepping in and will headline on Friday, July 29th.
“Arcade Fire sera des nôtres cet été!” the festival said in a statement. “Une étape importante mérite d’être célébrée en famille, alors pour notre 15e anniversaire, il nous était logique d’inviter le groupe qui a eu le plus profond impact au coeur de notre ville au cours des dernières décennies.”
In English, this translates to: “Arcade Fire will be with us this summer! A milestone deserves to be celebrated as a family, so for our 15th anniversary, it only made sense for us to invite the group that has had the most profound impact in the heart of our city over the past decades.”
For their part, Arcade Fire said they are dedicating their set to Hawkins. “I considered Taylor from the Foo Fighters a friend,” said Win Butler in a video posted to Instagram. “He was always so sweet and so musical. We’re going to be dedicating our performance at Osheaga to him. We can’t wait to see all of you, take care of each other.”
Technically, 2021 would have been the 15th anniversary of Osheaga, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the celebration until this year. Arcade Fire will join A$AP Rocky and Dua Lipa as the 2022 headliners, with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Charli XCX, Burna Boy, Khruangbin, Mitski, Machine Gun Kelly, and IDLES also receiving primetime slots. Pick up your pass here.
Arcade Fire will have plenty of new material to play at Osheaga, although they’ll be doing it without Will Butler, who announced his departure in March. The band’s new album, WE, drops on May 6th and features the lead single “The Lightning I, II,” which earned Song of the Week honors.
Meanwhile, Nine Inch Nails will fill in for Foo Fighters at Boston Calling and Welcome to Rockville, and Red Hot Chili Peppers will take their spot at New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Programmation à jour 🦋 Updated line up 🦋 pic.twitter.com/yQnUtmXGHE
— OSHEAGA (@osheaga) April 14, 2022
