THE BEST IN ’FEST
Our choices for must-see shows during the first week of Bluesfest
LYNN SAXBERG AND AEDAN HELMER
For a moment, let’s forget about the bird.
With the 24th annual edition of RBC Ottawa Bluesfest, one of Canada’s biggest summer festivals, set to start Thursday and run until July 15 at LeBreton Flats Park on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum, we’ve got music to discuss.
Naturally, it’s the headliners that pull in the crowds. And as usual, there’s something for everyone. Canada’s chart-topping meat-andpotatoes rocker Bryan Adams kicks off the festival Thursday, followed by a classic-rock celebration on Friday with singer-flutist Ian Andersen marking the 50th anniversary of his groundbreaking band, Jethro Tull. Saturday night features boynext-door star Shawn Mendes and his easily digestible pop fare, while Nashville’s Brett Eldredge brings his beat-happy party tunes to the main slot Sunday.
The festival takes a break on July 9 before roaring back to life on July 10 with the Foo Fighters in their hotly anticipated Bluesfest debut. It’s also a festival first for the Dave Matthews Band, who play July 11, and have not performed in Ottawa since 2002, when the Canadian Tire Centre was called the Corel Centre. On July 12, perennial faves Blue Rodeo return; lucky Friday the 13th brings the idiosyncratic Beck; and July 14 finds hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd getting top billing.
The festival concludes July 15 with a main-stage blast from Chicago punks Rise Against, whose 2011 Bluesfest show during a torrential downpour stands as one of the most epic Ottawa performances in recent memory.
In all, more than 200 acts are performing on five stages, with one major change in stage placement. The Claridge Stage will no longer battle for attention on the main plaza. Instead, it takes over the riverside half of the site, moving into the tent formerly occupied by the Bluesville stage.
To help you navigate the riches of the secondary stages, here are firstweekend picks from Lynn Saxberg and Aedan Helmer: