Montebello Rockfest takes the shredding online

Montebello Rockfest has a plan to keep partying through the pandemic.

With COVID-19 restrictions making a traditional music festival impossible, this year's virtual edition willinvolve streamingscenes from "thousands of unreleased hours of footage accumulated for nearly 15 years," founder Alex Martel said Wednesday in a press release.

Combined with new material, the festival will be sharing 50 hours of "exclusive" footage over the June 19-21 weekend, Rockfest's original dates.

Big-name artists who've played the festival over the years include Blink-182, Marilyn Manson, Motley Crue and Ice Cube.

Yet another reinvention

It's not the first time Montebello Rockfest has had to reinvent itself.Last summer's version was a shorter, pared-down affair after the festival declared bankruptcy in late 2018.

In typical times, the festival weekend is a major economic driver for Montebello, the town of roughly 1,000 people, about 80 kilometres northeast of Ottawa.

Tickets will still be required for this summer's edition, and they go on sale Thursday at noon.