MORE BLUESFEST PICKS
Eight performances you should see
Foo Fighters
Tuesday, 8 p.m., City Stage
This is the must-see show of this year’s edition of Bluesfest and it will be a scorcher. The epitome of post-grunge modern rock, the Foos haven’t been to Ottawa in a decade and anticipation is nearing an all-time high. Dave Grohl and his bandmates are renowned for delivering marathon concerts that never let up for more than two hours, raging through their own hits and shredding a few covers along the way. The band’s ninth album, Concrete and Gold, dropped last fall, sending them on a five-continent world tour that brings them to Bluesfest for the first time.
Dave Matthews Band Wednesday, 8:30 p.m., City Stage Here’s another band with a huge fan base and a reputation for a stellar live show making their Bluesfest debut. For Matthews and his crew, it’s also their first Ottawa appearance since 2002, and one of just three Canadian shows this summer. There’s a new album, Come Tomorrow, to promote, which has a warm, mellow and reflective tone. Don’t let it fool you, the band still loves to throw a party for the jamband crowd, as well as those who just discovered the music last year when the mid-’90s DMB nugget, Crash Into Me, was used in a key scene in the movie Lady Bird.
The LYNN(e)S Thursday, 9 p.m., Claridge Stage Two of Ottawa’s finest singersongwriters, Lynn Miles and Lynne Hanson, joined forces to write some songs together and came up with a rootsy treasure of an album called Heartbreak Song for the Radio. They named themselves The LYNN(e)S, appropriately enough, and have been touring non-stop since the record came out in February, delighting audiences with closeknit harmonies, accomplished guitar work and a wicked sense of humour that contrasts with the haunting tone of the songs. On Thursday, they’ll be accompanied by a full band.
Vanessa Collier Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Claridge Homes Stage
If you missed Vanessa Collier’s jaw-dropping performance at Bluesfest last year, here’s another chance to catch her show. Still in her 20s, the Texas dynamo has been nominated for multiple Blues Music Awards for her instrumental prowess on alto sax, but she’s also a soulful songstress with a fiery stage presence that will remind you of greats like Tina Turner or even James Brown. Her new album, Honey Up, just came out July 6.
Sturgill Simpson
Friday, 7:30 p.m., City Stage After packing all his belongings into a truck and moving from Kentucky to Nashville, the former teenage pot dealer was able to turn himself into an artist who has been described as the saviour of country music. His music explores the various offshoots of country music with enough of an edge to put him in the outlaw territory populated by legends such as Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. AEDAN’S PICKS M. Ward
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Claridge Stage
It’s hard to bet against the Foo Fighters headlining the main stage but, if you need a change from the breakneck pace, M. Ward is just the thing. The consummate festival veteran — he played the 2014 Folkfest, and Bluesfest in 2011 and in 2013 as half of She & Him — the laidback indie outsider returns with a fresh new album released last month. His trademark wry sense of humour is on full display from the title alone: What a Wonderful Industry.
Courtney Barnett Wednesday, 9:30 p.m., Black Sheep Stage
The Grammy and Brit Awardnominated songstress brings her quirky jams to Bluesfest’s side stage with her latest batch of toe-tapping witticisms from her sophomore album Tell Me How You Really Feel. Barnett broke out with the help of Kurt Vile on the excellent collaboration Lotta Sea Lice, which cracked the Top Ten.
Beck
Friday, 9:30 p.m., City Stage
One of the genuine artistes of his generation, expect a showstopping performance from slacker-no-more Beck on his long-awaited Ottawa debut. The L.A. songwriter, musician and producer extraordinaire has remained at the leading edge during a career as lengthy and diverse as the festival itself ( both launched in 1994), and, with neither showing any signs of slowing down, this show makes for a perfect match. Not to be missed.