This will be Beachclub's final summer. The owner told us what's next

It's not a Montreal summer without a trip to Beachclub, the resort-style open-air club on Montreal's North Shore as famous for its pool of world-renowned DJs as its actual swimming pool. But after the 2024 season, Montrealers will have to learn to live without it.

On Monday evening, owner-operator Olivier Primeau made a surprising announcement: this summer will be the last season of Beachclub as we know it. The news comes just two months after Primeau revealed he would be selling his Fuego Fuego and Metro Metro festivals to evenko.

In a phone call with Narcity Québec's editor-in-chief Izabelle Bee, Primeau confirmed his plans for Beachclub's final season and discussed his vision for a new project on the island currently occupied by Beachclub once Beachclub is no more.

What can we expect for the final season of Beachclub?

Primeau told Narcity that theme of the final Beachclub season, which kicks off in May, will fittingly be "last one, best one" and will consist of about 15 shows.

"We've got our biggest lineup yet by far. The artist we're announcing tomorrow [March 19] hasn't been in Quebec for eight years, so it's going to be a wild ride. We'll start with that. And it's a AAA line-up, despite the fact that it's so complicated and expensive to get artists these days," he said. "There are so many shows in Montreal and there's so much competition."

Primeau said that high costs and fierce competition were both factors that contributed to his decision to change his business model.

What do we know about Primeau's new project?

While Primeau wouldn't reveal the name of the new project that will replace Beachclub, promising more details in "due course," he did assure us that it would be as "revolutionary" as Beachclub.

"When we started [Beachclub] in 2015, we did things no one had ever done and which the world doubted [...] It took two or three years before we got a really big following, and then we became number one in Canada. We earned our reputation," Primeau said.

"I see the trend for big beach clubs like this coming to an end. So we're developing the [new] project for next year, and [...] it's going to be another thing that revolutionizes events in Quebec like we did in 2015. It's easier to stop and reinvent yourself when you're at the top of your game. And since we're still at the top right now, I'm starting a new revolution."

Primeau said he suspects more information will be released throughout the summer and the year that follows.