This year’s Bluesfest was a wild romantic affair. Kanye West pulled in around 30,000 people (the biggest crowd since the KISS concert of 2009), country music fans in distasteful shorts caused controversy, and not one but two couples had public Bluesfest-centred engagements.
The first of these was Aaron Trudeau’s spontaneous marriage proposal to his girlfriend Molly Cannings at the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes concert. The moment captured this year’s Bluesfest at its best—a rousing celebration of music in many diverse forms.
The biggest acts at the festival may have been American, but Bluesfest this year boasted its fair share of dynamic Canadian performers. Alvvays played through their Polaris-nominated self-titled album in remarkable fashion. Crowds also got to indulge in youthful nostalgia at the performances of emo/punk bands like Marianas Trench and Simple Plan.
And the musicians on the bigger outdoor stages weren’t the only ones to shine.
Ottawa artists like Kaleigh Watts and Pony Girl commanded the Barney Danson Theatre with aplomb, making excellent use of the more intimate space. Local blues musician Catriona Sturton played bravely on through the rain at the Monster Stage and Ottawa band New Swears started a party with a raucous set at the Canadian Stage.
The Canadian Stage was home to quite a few stellar performances—the aforementioned Edward Sharpe concert that ended with marriage, a wonderfully chill set by California beach goths The Growlers, and a hypnotic set by Vancouver rockers Black Mountain.
And let it not be said that this year’s festival was lacking in actual blues. Along with older established acts like Ronnie Baker Brooks and the Kinsey Report, there were a few more obscure blues gems onstage this year. Young Oklahoma-born bluegrass musician Parker Millsap tore up the Barney Danson Theatre and Australian blues rockers Hat Fitz and Cara spent the final night of their Canadian tour at the Monster Stage.
Along with Kanye, big names in rap and hip-hop like Iggy Azalea and Chance the Rapper attracted the ever-growing youth crowds to the festival.
Montreal hip-hop duo Heart Streets charmed a modest crowd at the Bell Stage, finishing off their set with the delightfully catchy single “Under the Skin.” And while Hedley and the Gaslight Anthem played at various stages, on night seven the real show was happening at the Monster Stage with Run the Jewels. American rappers EI-P and Killer Mike brought the house down with an electrifying performance.
Overall, after 220 different performances in 11 days, 300,000 music enthusiasts in Ottawa were left with, as Kanye insisted, something to tell their kids about.
