The eighth night of Ottawa Bluesfest seemed oddly different from the previous few days. There were less people, while a cloudy sky cast a dark shadow over Lebreton Flats, and threatened rain.
But still, the evening’s performances were fun, exciting, and presented another intriguing variety of performers.
On the City Stage, Ottawa’s JW-Jones got the evening’s performances going. The 38-year-old blues singer-guitarist and his band played through a mix of originals, plucking long guitar solos with perfection.
Jones concluded his set with a medley of popular riffs, including “Barracuda” by Heart, “Brown Sugar” by the Rolling Stones, and theme songs from James Bond and Spiderman.
At one point, his bassist and drummer joined him at the front of the stage to play on Jones’ guitar as he was soloing away. Seeing six hands playing the same guitar at once, the audience experienced a moment that was both fun to watch and sounded pretty cool.
At the same time, Ottawa rapper Black Iri$h performed to a crowd of around a hundred people at the Black Sheep Stage. Surrounded by a hype crew and DJ, Black Iri$h seemed to captivate the young fans with his lively presence and energy.
What made this hip-hop performance stand out compared to others, was the presence of a live drummer as opposed to relying solely on a DJ. This aspect made the performance a lot more authentic and enjoyable.
Back on the main stage, country singer Sturgill Simpson gave an outstanding performance to a crowd that had grown significantly larger since the gates opened.
Country music is always a major part of Bluesfest’s programming, but most artists are from the mainstream pop-country scene. Simpson’s sound is a drift away from that, resembling more of the outlaw sound pioneered by legends Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
Simpson’s set-up was a lot more modest than the typical modern country concert, focusing more on music than large-scale production and aesthetic. His deep voice flowed through the crowd and his solos brought out a loud Southern rock twang. Even as a little bit of rain came down, fans stuck around to enjoy the brilliant performance.
The night was capped of by multi-Grammy-award-winning musical genius Beck. At his first-ever Ottawa show, Beck was simply outstanding, playing songs from all over his successful musical career.
If you had never heard of Beck before Friday, you still would have been blown away. Most people have at least heard Beck’s 1994 alt-rap international superhit “Loser,” which he played two songs in and had the entire crowd singing along at the chorus.
Backed by a psychedelic LED display, Back and his exceptional band captivated the audience and created an energy that left the crowd singing and dancing. In his encore, he played an extended version of “Where It’s At,” before making a single-file line with his bandmates to march with a little groove off the stage.
The eighth night of Bluesfest was great as a whole, but in the end, it all seemed like a build-up to Beck’s performance. For a night that didn’t share the same level of pre-festival expectations as the Foo Fighters or Shawn Mendes, the evening delivered some of the festival’s most
