Despite ponchos being sold at the entrance and plastic covers draped over on-stage equipment, this year’s opening night of Bluesfest kicked off in high spirits with friends dancing in the mud and a breathtaking display in the night sky.
Country singer-songwriter Jade Hilton donned white cowboy boots and a pink gingham dress to open for a small but persistent crowd pressing against the barricades of the RBC Stage. As the rain initially poured down, most fans who didn’t have rain-gear still had the safety of their cowboy hats to shield their faces.
Seeking comfort from the imposing grey skies, attendees took to the Canadian War Museum’s Barney Danson Theatre for the Bluesfest debut of local folk-rock duo Satellite Birdhouse. A packed room filled the seats and lined the walls to experience a mesmerizing light display matching an emotional, at-times apocalyptic setlist.
The duo captivated the room with plucky, emotional folk ballads, including “Some Kind of Armour,” a sweet, soft melody that brought DuBois into the arrangement with the lyrics, “beautiful woman with me.” DuBois revealed that Huizinga’s mentorship inspired her to write her own music, leading into her original piece, “My Favourite Part.”
Back outside, the rain began spitting just as Jessie Murph began her performance, sitting atop a wooden staircase-like structure. Making her way down the steps, she twirled madly in the rain with a joyous expression plastered across her face to her song “Bad As The Rest.”
Dressed in white heels and a frilly light-blue dress, Murph moved into “Easy Sunday Living” and “1965” from her latest album Sex Hysteria, the screens shifting at times to stark black-and-white, showcasing her husky vocal style.
The energy spiked during “Dirty” when Murph invited a fan onstage to be painted on. At her suggestion, he took his shirt off and revealed his chest to thunderous cheers, which Murph proceeded to paint a blue phallic shape over alongside a line across his throat to the lyrics “you don’t deserve me.” Her own chest was left stained for the remainder of the performance following a departing hug.
Over on the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa Stage, hip-hop icons Digable Planets energized a multi-generational crowd. GenXers revived their love for the trio during a performance of their 1993 classic “Pacifics.” Hands and peace signs waved through the air as the group modified their famous chant from “New York is red hot” to “Ottawa is red hot” accompanied by bongo drums and a live saxophone.
“Music is the connection that connects the whole world. We wouldn’t be here together [without it],” the group declared, their finale met with piercing cheers.
As night fell, Texas-born headliner Cody Johnson took the RBC Stage to a roar of hollering. Wearing jeans, a white button-down, and his signature cowboy hat, he opened with the uptempo anthem “That’s Texas” in front of a giant ‘Greetings from Texas’ backdrop. Fans happily jigged in the mud, crushing Coors Light cans underfoot.
“Anyone feel like dancing?” Johnson challenged the wet crowd before launching into the boot-stomping romantic track “Dance Her Home.” He immediately followed with an earnest performance of “With You I Am,” removing his hat in respect to the crowd.
Johnson paused to admit he worried the poor weather might impact their performance on his way in from Texas that morning. “But as long as they didn’t tell us we couldn’t, we were gonna play anyway,” he said.
The energy ramped right back up with a wild cover of The Charlie Daniels Band’s “Long Haired Country Boy,” ending with Johnson leaping off a stage platform during a blazing fiddle and drum solo.
He slowed things down for “Human,” a touching tribute to his wife, before addressing the crowd: “What if we woke up tomorrow and everyone treated everyone as they wanted to be treated? At the end of the day, no matter how different we are, we’re all human beings on this earth trying to figure out this thing we call life.”
After introducing his powerhouse backing group, The Rockin’ CJB, he performed “The Painter” against animated brushstrokes, before finishing his main set with his massive, high-energy hit “‘Till You Can’t,” throwing CDs out into the crowd.
As fans moved toward the exits, the stage lights flashed again. The crowd turned on their heels, rushing back to the barricades for an encore. Johnson rewarded them with his hit “Travelin’ Soldier” and finished the night with “Diamond In My Pocket.”
With a final goodnight, Johnson exited the stage to a wild crash of cymbals as the sky above the RBC Stage lit up with a brilliant – and unexpected – display of red, white, and green fireworks left over from Canada Day. Streaming out of the festival, fans watched the colours reflect off nearby apartment windows and from Pimisi Station’s platform, clapping as the display concluded a triumphant opening night.
Featured photo by Greg Kolz via Bluesfest.
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