With its numerous outdoor stages located at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Montreal's Sainte-Hélène's Island, Osheaga attracted 155 000 music lovers from North America and Europe in 2023.

[4] A huge celebration dedicated to music and visual arts, Osheaga has given itself the objective of discovering local and national emerging talent offering them the opportunity to play alongside some of the biggest international artists in the business including: Coldplay, The Killers, Iggy & The Stooges, Sonic Youth, The Roots, Rufus Wainwright, Arcade Fire, Weezer and Eminem.

Over the course of several days, approximately 100 bands take to the various stages at Parc Jean-Drapeau and across the city in the festive ambiance that only a Montreal summer can provide.

Osheaga also holds a series of concerts and exhibitions in several locations around the city during the week leading up to the main event.

For its ninth edition, the Osheaga Music and Arts festival, presented by Virgin Mobile, promises an exhilarating experience with, among others: Jack White, Outkast and Skrillex.

Osheaga Play also features roaming photographers who can scan participants' RFID bracelets so the photos will be directly uploaded to their social media.

[5] An alternative explanation has been claimed in which "Osheaga" meant "people of the shaking hands", tricking Cartier into recording the settlement's name as a word that was actually a mocking comment directed at him; in some versions of this story, the Iroquoian people were bewildered by Cartier waving his hands wildly to attract their attention as he first approached the settlement in his boat, while in others they were bewildered by his European custom of greeting them with a handshake.

"[7] Farkas attempted to establish a lineup of underground artists that would appeal to both discerning fans and the broader public.

Osheaga's sophomore year began to take stride with the Smashing Pumpkins, M.I.A, Feist, and the Arctic Monkeys.

[9] Moving to the first weekend in August, the third Osheaga festival broadened its indie appeal by incorporating The Killers, a rock group, and Jack Johnson.

The fourth installation of the festival originally slotted Coldplay and the Beastie Boys as the two-day event's leading performances.

However, the Beastie Boys were forced to withdraw after Adam Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland.

Fifty acts performed on 4 stages from August 1–2, 2009, including Girl Talk, Lykke Li, Jason Mraz, the Decemberists, Arctic Monkeys, and Vampire Weekend.

[17] Despite the absence of a similarly high-profile performer, the seventh edition of Osheaga in 2012 sold out at 240,000 total attendees over the three-day weekend from August 3–5, 2012.

Eminem’s performance inflated the festival's presence among American and European markets, making it a destination on an international scale.

[17] Headliners in 2012 included The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Justice, M83, MGMT, Feist, Sigur Ros, and the Jesus and Mary Chain.

In 2013, the festival continued to out-do previous sales, selling out in record time with a total of 270,000 audience members.

The lineup slated Mumford & Sons, The Cure, and Beck as the main attractions, followed by Phoenix, Imagine Dragons, Vampire Weekend, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, New Order, The Lumineers, Tegan and Sara, and Kendrick Lamar.

The lineup featured headliners such as OutKast, Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, Skrillex, Lorde and The Replacements.

The inaugural edition of the Osheaga Festival was held on September 2 and 3, 2006 and was headlined by Sonic Youth and Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals.

The Foo Fighters, who were originally headlined for this edition, were not able to attend due to the passing of the band's drummer Taylor Hawkins.