andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Having just hosted a Jazz and Comedy festival only a few weeks ago, Montreal was once again the pearl of Canada this past weekend with the undeniable success of the Osheaga Music and Arts festival- a two day event filled with performances beginning at 1:00pm all the way until 11:00pm.

As Saturday would feature notable acts such as Jason Mraz, The Roots, K’naan, The Stills, Girltalk and above all, the grandmaster Coldplay, andPOP decided to venture down to La Belle Province for day no. 1.

But something funny happened by the end of our trip. Not only did we go from being pale skinned to maple brown sunburned, but we also went from being a concert reviewer to a behind-the-scenes explorer.

With four different stages and acts scheduled at similar time slots, we had to pick and choose which musical path our day would lead towards.

This is our story.

2:30 pm- I begin my journey in Hell’s Kitchen. Beautiful sunny day in Montreal, but sweltering 30 degree Celsius heat. For some reason though, the crowd seems to want to stand through it for acoustic rock performer Donavon Frankenreiter at the Mountain Stage. The musician and also pro surfer gathers a trickling crowd with an immediate groovy set- reminiscent of longtime pal Jack Johnson.

Part of that next batch of sunshine tune-fellows like Johnson, Ben Harper, Matt Costa and G. Love,  Frankenreiter ignites the festival’s spirit with his variety of catchy soothing numbers- most notably It Don’t Matter, which leads fans into a massive chant. A laid-back Frankenreiter even lets a lucky fan help him belt out the chorus, sending the crowd into rave cheers.

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The Black Eyed Peas, Simple Plan, New Kids on the Block and Hedley are among the performers for the first-ever Virgin Festival in Montreal this summer.

The event, which will be staged at Parc Jean-Drapeau on June 19 and 20, will also feature the New Cities, “Canadian Idol” winner Eva Avila, Akon, Live, LIGHTS and Divine Brown. More acts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

One organizer described the city as the perfect place to bring the event. “Montréal is a natural host for Virgin Festival,” said Jacques Aube, vice president and general manager of Gillett Entertainment Group, in a statement. “The city has an eclectic, thriving music scene, and tons of festival-loving fans.”

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The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival will return to Montreal this summer with two huge headliners: Coldplay and Beastie Boys.

The fourth installment of the annual extravaganza will take place at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Aug. 1 and 2, with the Brits headlining on Saturday and the Brooklyn MCs closing the festival on Sunday.

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Pamela Anderson isn’t making herself any friends in her native country.

The Canadian bombshell infuriated the owners of the Opera in Montreal this past weekend by breaking a contract with them.

Anderson was set to walk the red carpet, speak with journalists and host a contest. She was also to pocket $100,000, reports Perez Hilton.

Unfortunately, Anderson’s diva behaviour got the best of her. She snubbed the media, though the agreement was to speak with each journalist for five minutes. She didn’t end up hosting the contest, and never went inside the room that was filled with flowers at her request.

Anderson reportedly spent most of her time relaxing on a leather couch.

Rapper M.I.A. may be moving to Montreal when her American visa expires in June.

Because her father was once a soldier in the Sri Lankan terrorist organization Tamil Tigers, she doesn’t expect her visa to be renewed.

“Basically at the moment I can choose between Montreal and London,” she told Baby Baby Baby magzine. “My mum’s like, ‘I want you here!’ I haven’t seen her in, like, forever, so I have to choose between my mum and Montreal.”

She said that she’s been making the most of her final U.S. concerts, and that Kanye West has offered to marry her to keep her in the country.

She was previously barred entrance to the States in 2006.

Vancouver-based band Hedley performed yesterday at the University of British Columbia.

Their home turf concert is part of the MTV The Leak Live tour, a series of free concerts across Canada promoting Hedley’s upcoming album, “Famous Last Words,” which will be released October 30. For those unable to attend, their first single, “She’s So Sorry,” can be heard on Hedley’s official MySpace page.

“Famous Last Words” is Hedley’s sophomore offering, following their 2005 self-titled album which earned the band platinum status, five hit singles, two Juno nominations, and the Much Music Video Award for Best Pop Video.

Charismatic and nudity-prone frontman Jacob Hoggard is confident about the new album, which was produced by former Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori. As Hoggard told MTV, “The main difference between this album and the last, was the amount of blood, sweat and tears that we put into this recording.”

Check out the rest of Hedley’s free tour at these locations:

Tomorrow: The SAIT Hangar in Calgary, AB at 12 p.m.
Friday: The UWO Talbot Bowl in London, ON at 7:30 p.m.
October 2: The Dalhousie Quad in Halifax, NS at 7 p.m.
October 4: The Concordia Loyola Downtown Campus in Montreal, QC at 5 p.m.
October 11: The Masonic Temple in Toronto, ON at 5 p.m.