As anxious fans wait for the official line-up to be announced, Metallica and Elton John are two of the most-mentioned names rumored to be performing at the upcoming Quebec City Summer Festival (Festival d’été de Québec), taking place July 7-17 this year.
Although a stretch, such major acts are not completely out of the reach of the massive festival, which has, in the past, booked popular artists such as ZZ Top, Simple Plan, Billy Talent, Kanye West, Nickelback, Rush, Plácido Domingo, Sting and Loreena McKennitt among many others.
In 2008, for Quebec City’s 400th anniversary, festival organizer Daniel Gélinas was even able to book former Beatle Paul McCartney and Quebec’s own Céline Dion.
The final line-up for the 2011 festival is expected to be announced soon. So far, Cage the Elephant, Girl Talk and The Black Keys are confirmed for July 10, and Thomas Fersen is confirmed for July 17, according to the festival website.
About 1.5 million people attend the festival each year. The eleven-day extravaganza includes more than 1,000 artists performing almost 300 shows at 12 venues throughout the city.