On Friday night, Ella Langley was choosin’ Ottawa – to thousands of grateful fans.
The seventh night of Bluesfest curated a dream lineup for country and rock fans: Langley, Quebec’s rising stars Angine de Poitrine, Toronto’s Death from Above 1979 and the legendary Sheryl Crow.
The main stage’s lineup alone saw attendees piling up at the gates as soon as the festival opened up for one of its biggest dates yet, with crowds rivaling the Lumineers’ headlining night last Sunday.
The exceptionally early start time was put in place due to scheduling changes.
Experimental rock duo Angine de Poitrine were originally set to perform at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa Stage. That stage has an estimated capacity of 7,000 people.
This meant that country artist Nayana’s set time had to be changed from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. and her set was cut down to 40 minutes in order to make way for the polka-dotted duo.
Nayana posted a video on TikTok expressing her disappointment at the news of the schedule change. She later posted a follow-up TikTok saying she and her band still wanted to give Bluesfest the “best, most fun show we can possibly deliver…” no matter the circumstances.
And the 24-year-old Ottawa native certainly delivered on her promise, coming out on stage in white cowboy boots, an animal-print dress and some happy words to her hometown.
“It is damn good to be here…” said Nayana, who said she has been attending Ottawa Bluesfest since she was 11 years old.
She performed songs such as “Now I’m Drunk,” and “What Them Boots Do” with a sense of giddiness and whimsy. She also debuted her new song “Flirtin’” towards the end of her set, released earlier that day.
While the audience for Nayana seemed distracted by the night ahead, the singer’s country tunes and confidence made the most of her adjusted festival bill.
But distraction quickly turned into anticipation as the crowd near the barrier of the RBC Stage grew from sparse to tightly packed in a matter of minutes ahead of Angine de Poitrine’s set.
The anonymous duo known as Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine waddled their way onto the stage, did a few quick stretches and then jumped right into an intense performance of “Angor.” They greeted the crowd dressed in their idiosyncratic polka-dotted attire and large-nosed masks, reflecting their on-stage personas as 333-year-old dadaistic aliens.
The brothers showcased their technical prowess, bizarre time signatures and intensely unique sound through songs such as “Mata Zyklek,” “Sarniezz,” and “Tamebsz,” breezing through long, microtonal compositions with ease.
The two rarely took breaks from playing, only stopping to drink water out of a comically large red straw, to grunt or to signal to the crowd to make a triangle symbol with their hands – a gesture very important to the duo’s alien lore.
Angine de Poitrine finished off their set with a lively performance of “Sherpa” as white and gold lights sparkled around them. By the end, crowd members were bouncing around in excitement as they waved the brothers off.
Despite a large turnout and positive reaction from their fans, sandwiching a microtonal rock show between two country acts felt akin to mixing oil and water, and it’s understandable why some country-clad concertgoers left during Angine de Poitrine’s performance.
Up next was country rock legend Sheryl Crow, who kicked off her set with an enthusiastic performance of “A Change Would Do You Good.”
Crow also took time to show love to Angine de Poitrine, who she called her “new favourite band.”
“They effin’ rock…” commented Crow.
Following the end of Crow’s set, Bluesfest workers began setting up for country superstar Ella Langley’s set by placing tufts of lush flowers and moss around the stage.
But down in the festival grounds, the crowd of country fans had grown quickly and compacted together so tightly that it became difficult to move around. Open water bottles had to be passed around from person to person to the overheated attendees.
Eventually after the sun went down, it was time for Ella Langley’s long-awaited headlining set.
The Alabama native kicked off her set with a warm performance of “Dandelion,” the titular track of her latest album. Her stage presence and grace instantly captivated the singing crowd.
Langley powered through hard-hitting tracks such as “girl you’re taking home,” “Be Her” and “20-20” with her natural charisma and southern charm, occasionally being taken aback at how loudly the crowd was singing along.
“I’m standing here in front of 40,000 people tonight and y’all are singing every word to every single song…”
Langley, a lifelong Christian, took a moment to talk about her faith in God, and give out some words of motivation to her fans.
“Stick with that thing that makes you who you are because that’s what life is about…” said Langley. “It isn’t about being somebody else, it’s about being the person you were born to be.”
Langley closed off her set with an ethereal performance of her current Billboard Canadian Hot 100 No.1 hit “Choosin’ Texas,” and fan favourite “weren’t for the wind.”
The rock-inspired track gave her lead guitarist Ben Flanders a chance to shine and left fans with an extra surge of energy for the road before Langley gracefully exited.
As the weather cooled and the night settled, thousands flooded in different directions across Ottawa and Gatineau, all prepping for a long walk home in their cowboy boots.
Featured image by Miriam Visser/the Charlatan.
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