Arcade Fire will do a homecoming set on the opening night of Montreal’s Osheaga Music and Arts Festival this summer.
The band has taken over the headliner slot on July 29 from Foo Fighters, who cancelled all performances following the sudden death last month of drummer Taylor Hawkins.
“When the Foo Fighters unfortunately had to cancel, it was extremely important to us that we book a band that means something special to our local music fans as well as an artist that would appeal to a huge fan base internationally,” explained Osheaga founder Nick Farkas, in a release. “We are thrilled that our local hometown heroes Arcade Fire were able to step in and fill the void.”
Arcade Fire, which was formed in Montreal, last played the festival in 2010. The band’s new album WE is out May 6.
“I considered Taylor from the Foo Fighters a friend," frontman Win Butler said in a video on Instagram. "He was always so sweet and so musical. We’re going to be dedicating our performance at Osheaga to him."
Régine Chassagne was born in Montreal and bandmates Richard Reed Parry, Jeremy Gara and Tim Kingsbury hail from Ontario. Butler, Chassagne’s husband, became a Canadian citizen in 2019.
Last month, Will Butler shared the news that he left Arcade Fire last year, after the album was recorded. “There was no acute reason beyond that I’ve changed – and the band has changed – over the last almost 20 years,” he explained on social media. “Time for new things.”
This article has been updated since it was first published.