From Gwen Stefani’s popular tunes to Shaggy’s reggae classics, Bluesfest offered Ottawa a sweet escape this Saturday.
Despite the day’s hormonal weather changes, Ottawa was sure to bring the energy to night eight of Bluesfest.
Bluesfest’s streak of sunny weather was ruined following a torrential downpour in the early afternoon that delayed entry until 5:30 p.m., but many attendees still came early and waited eagerly to enter festival grounds that had been transformed into a sea of mud and puddles.
The crowds lacked their usual cowboy hats and country attire from previous nights – instead ready for a wide range of pop, reggae, rock and soul music with many sporting casual jeans and sneakers soaking up the mud.
21-year-old Billie du Page was the first to take the RBC Stage. People slowly trickled over to her set, curiosity piqued by the bilingual singer-songwriter.
Unlike the sun hidden by the dark clouds rolling through the sky, du Page lit up the crowd under purple hazy lights while she performed her most popular song, “Fake Friends,” switching between English and French throughout the performance.
Du Page’s raspy vocals traveled throughout the festival grounds as she elegantly danced and glimmered across the stage, dressed in a grey tank top and black rhinestoned jeans.
“We don’t need fake friends do we?” du Page called out from the stage. The small but growing crowd cheered back in support of the singer’s message.
Across the festival grounds, the Barney Danson Theatre hosted singer-songwriter Eadsé.
Wearing a white ruffled dress, the Indigenous artist delivered a more intimate performance in the dimly lit theatre, sharing emotional melodies and powerful vocals.
Just outside, people packed in front of the LeBreton Stage to catch 19-year-old Grace Bowers give an electrifying blues-rock performance.
Dressed in ankle-high black leather boots and a Ramones t-shirt, the emerging artist riffed impressively on her electric guitar, wild curls flying as she head-banged while playing songs from her band, the Hodge Podge.
The moment Shaggy stepped onto the stage, the crowd roared in welcome of the Jamaican star.
“I got a question for y’all. Are. You. Ready. To. Party?” Shaggy called out with a smirk.
Thousands of people cheered in response as Shaggy kicked off his set with “In the Summertime,” a perfect choice for the summer festival scene.
Energy levels only grew throughout the night, with people screaming at the top of their lungs along with Shaggy as he performed hit songs “It Wasn’t Me,” “Angel,” and “Boombastic.”
Hair flipped, hands waved in the air and hips swayed to the rhythmic reggae fusion as Shaggy set the scene for an outdoor dance party.
Dark clouds and rain rolled in midway through Shaggy’s vibrant performance, but the crowd stood their ground and if anything, the bad weather only heightened the buzz in the air as people danced in the rain with their drinks raised per Shaggy’s request.
Ottawa’s unpredictable weather did not go unnoticed by the reggae star.
“I did not come to Ottawa because of the weather. You can get rain anywhere,” he joked.
Shaggy closed out his performance by applauding Ottawa’s audience as “the most f-ing awesome audience in Canada,” before running off stage, a Jamaican flag trailing behind him from his back pocket.
The crowd packed elbow to elbow in anticipation before Stefani made her appearance on stage dressed head to toe in pink and black gingham that gleamed under stage lights as she made her Bluesfest debut.
Stefani’s vocals soared throughout the festival grounds as she opened the night with “The Sweet Escape,” joined by a crowd singing every word.
Stefani was lively and energetic as she jumped and danced alongside her backup dancers.
Following her performance of “Hey Baby,” hand-made signs in the crowd quickly caught Stefani’s attention. The first signs were held up by two women dressed in banana costumes reading “this sh-t is bananas,” and “this birthday is bananas.”
Stefani also noticed a younger fan’s sign declaring it was her first concert and asking for a selfie.
She invited all three fans on stage, posing with them for pictures much to the crowd’s delight.
Midway through the show, Stefani exited the stage for an outfit change at impeccable speed. She returned in a white bedazzled jacket, and matching shorts with “No Doubt” spelled out on her back, sporting red gingham boots to finish off the look.
The crowd’s energy only rose as Stefani performed songs such as “Rich Girl,” “Illusion,” and “Luxurious.”
Throughout the night, Stefani was more than interactive with the crowd – at one point walking right into the audience accepting gifts, and high fiving people’s outstretched hands.
Upon her return to stage, Stefani expressed her gratitude to the audience before delivering back to back iconic performances of “I’m Just A Girl,” and “Hollaback Girl,” that had every person in the audience jumping, dancing and screaming the lyrics into the night.
As the final notes of “Hollaback Girl” closed out the night, the crowd was notably slower to exit than previous nights.
As dozens of attendees sang, danced and twirled one another to speakers playing Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” on their way to the exits, it was clear the second-last day of performers had left a lingering, energizing impression on Ottawa.
Featured photo by Sophia Laporte/the Charlatan.
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