A country music festival is launching next year in Montreal.Concert promoter evenko has partnered with Universal Music Canada on LASSO, described as “an urban country music jamboree.”
The inaugural festival will run Aug. 15 and 16, 2020 at Jean-Drapeau Park, where the annual Osheaga festival takes place over the August long weekend.
According to a release, evenko has been plotting LASSO for three years and promises to deliver “the world’s premiere urban country music festival.” LASSO is expected to blend international headliners with homegrown talent.
Country artists like Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Florida Georgia Line, and Thomas Rhett have drawn big crowds to their shows in Montreal.
“As a country singer, we don’t get the opportunity to play in Montreal,” Brett Kissel told the crowd during a 2017 show in the Old Port. “Very rarely do country singers come here and I think that’s a shame because some of the best fans in all of music are right here.”
Fellow Canadian country star Tim Hicks did a six-city tour of Quebec.
“When we announced the Shake These Walls tour, [on Facebook] I saw so many ‘Where’s the Montreal show?’ comments,” Hicks told iHeartRadio.ca. “I called my agent and said ‘I don’t know if there’s anything we can do here but there seems to be a want for us to go to Montreal.’ So we hooked up the Corona Theatre and it was such a good night and such a positive vibe all around.”
LASSO is encouraging fans to share their line-up wish list at the festival’s official website for a chance to win a four-pack of tickets.