Gracie Abrams was brought to tears. Tyler, the Creator fell to the floor from momentary exhaustion. Doechii brought out the F-bombs as her mic was cut right on the stroke of 11 p.m. And that’s just what happened on stage. It was another wild and briefly wet Osheaga weekend for the festival’s rockin’ 18th edition.

The crowds were out en masse for this beloved ritual of Montreal summer, making their way from near and far to Parc Jean-Drapeau to take in the barrage of more than 85 music acts over three days, ending with pop-punk star Olivia Rodrigo on Sunday.

Rising star Abrams’s eyes welled up, looking out at the huge crowd hanging on and singing along to her every word Saturday evening. “This is just hard to wrap my head around, sorry,” she said, seated at the piano.

Her set was cut short by lightning an hour in as rain began to fall, putting the site into panic as all concerts were stopped. But a half-hour later, things were back on track as the showers passed and shows resumed.

Saturday headliner Tyler, the Creator literally danced till he dropped to the stage floor near the end of his commanding set, telling the audience how tired he was.

Weren’t we all? And there was still one day to go.

There were tears in the crowd Sunday as Rodrigo’s throngs of young female fans belted out every lyric to every song along with their idol. Osheaga was the last stop of her Guts tour and, witnessing the crowd’s delirious reaction, she mused that they may have saved the best for last. The singer gave a top-tier performance, brimming with sass and showmanship.

“I think she’s very much the Taylor Swift of a young generation,” misty-eyed devotee Kate Dickens told The Gazette’s Leora Schertzer.

“I cried so much,” said Rafaëla........

© Montreal Gazette