We were due! It was seriously past high time to drop our ponchos and rain boots for some sunglasses and flip-flops. So how fantastic was it to finally show up to a dry and sunny site this past Sunday, with Piknicers packed to the gills from the back fences up to the stage, filling every nook and cranny between the Family Zone and the STM Stage!

Seb Fauteux got this edition rolling from the moment the doors opened with a dancey set that flowed with rich harmony. He was accompanied by some extra-terrestrial friends, dressed from head to toe in pink, sporting helmets coiffed to look like ghetto-blasters. Insane! Konrad Black took the stage next with a set of groovy deep house, bringing a smile and a lockstep to a growing crowd of exalted Piknicers, who were just then arriving in droves to Parc Jean-Drapeau. Over at the STM Stage, the mood was decidedly more zen, with Polaire and Aun cracking open a universe of drone for the dazed and confused introspectioneers among us.

Next up on the main stage was none other than Crosstown Rebels label boss Damian Lazarus, who took the dark-tinged deepness imbued by Black and delivered two hours of solid house to his raving disciples. Those dancing nutters, spit-roasted under the 34°C afternoon sun, were doubly basted and ready to eat by the time Maher Daniel hit the decks for an uplifting finale. All in all, for the first time in what seems like too long, we enjoyed the luxury of a gorgeous sunset against the Montreal horizon. No doubt about it, all the elements converged for a stellar summer Piknic, the kind we’d like to have every weekend!

After three weeks under clouds, the month of August ended on a sunny note. Now, get ready for a jam-packed September that raises the stakes and the pace, beginning with next week’s Labour Day marathon: three Piknics, music from wall to wall (Shuttle, Toddla T, Misstress Barbara, Ellen Allien, Sascha Funke…), and, we hope, good weather!

Julie G.