Festival D’ete Cheat Sheet: 5 Acts You Need To See

Every summer music festival claims to have something for everyone, but few actually deliver on the promise of variety. For Canada’s most legitimately diverse musical lineup, look to Québec City’s annual 11-day party on the Plains of Abraham. Festival d'été de Québec​ pulls no punches, bringing the biggest and best names in hip-hop, electronic, indie, folk, and yes, even dad-rock to a historic outdoor venue filled with 100,000 music fans. Seriously, check out the full lineup. It’s gigantic.

Are you a hip-hop head? A$AP Ferg, De La Soul, and Run The Jewels have you covered. And let’s be honest—you’re probably curious what it might be like to see Iggy Azalea perform for a crowd this size. If you’re an electronic music fan, look no further than the teachings of Professors Skrillex and Diplo’s Jack Ü and the festival-friendly trap of Zeds Dead. Metalhead? Megadeth. Are country music and beautiful locks of hair your thing? Keith Urban. Is your dad itching to carve it up to some smooth-ass yacht rock? Boston and the Doobie Brothers are here to make it a family affair, man. Oh, and the Rolling Stones are going to be there. You've gotta give it to them—FEQ bodied the 2015 lineup.

There’ll be no shortage of big names on the Plains of Abraham this year, but Festival d'été de Québec also has a wealth of international programming and emerging talent to look forward to. We combed through the schedule and cherry-picked a few sets you should check out, you know, in between Nickelback and Anti-Flag. Here are 5 acts you need to see at Festival D’ete.

Festival d'été de Québec​ runs from July 9th to 19th in Qué​bec City. If you don’t have them already, you can buy festival passes here.

18-year-old Chester Watson is a recent (but welcome) discovery. Along with the Nü Age Syndicate, The Florida Rapper blesses dark, mesmerizing instrumentals with pensive monotone bars in the vein of Earl Sweatshirt and DOOM.

Plains of Abraham, Thursday July 16th, 6:30PM

Born in Québec City, this hometown hero infuses reggae and hip-hop with Latin grooves, which should make for an eclectic dance party on the Plains of Abraham. The tropical riddims of El Dorado Sunset (in collaboration with Montreal producer Poirier) is a good touch point for Boogat’s dancier material, but the prolific emcee is also fluent in worldbeat, reggaeton, cumbia, and modern Franco-pop music. So if nothing else, Boogat’s live show will keep you on your toes.

Place D’Youville, Monday July 13th, 6:00PM

The music of Pierre Kwenders is often labeled as Afro-electro, or referred to as Congolese-rumba-meets-electronica, but perhaps the best descriptor for his celebratory, avant-garde sound is “autobiographical.” Born in Congo, Kwenders moved to Canada as a teenager, and soon found himself making modern electro-R&B through the lens of African culture. It’s personal, it’s culturally rich, and best of all, it really knocks. Check out his collaboration with Montreal rap group The Posterz below.

Place D’Youville, Tuesday July 14th, 6:00PM

United in 2013 through shared collaborators in French Canadian electro-pop group Misteur Valaire, the rise of Milk & Bone has been Vin Diesel-esque, which is to say, very fast and also very furious. In less than a year, the Montreal duo has earned rave reviews for their harmonious debut album Little Mourning, racking up nearly 2 million plays on Soundcloud in the process. Bandmates Camille Poliquin and Laurence Lafond-Beaulne bring a dazed sensitivity to electro-pop, at times sounding like Purity Ring on klonopin.

252 St-Joseph East St. Thursday July 9th, 7:45PM

Let’s be clear: IAM are not an under-the-radar act. Far from it, the five-member supergroup is France’s reigning hip-hop institution. Since 1989, IAM have challenged the linguistic boundaries of hip-hop, collaborating with Wu-Tang Clan, and earning two #1 album plaques in their native land along the way. 25 years in the game and still going strong, there’s no better venue to see IAM do their thing than at Festival d'été de Québec​ on the Plains of Abraham with 100,000 other people.

Plains of Abraham, Thursday July 16th, 9:30PM