There was some great action down at the Blacksheep Stage once again on the eighth day of Bluesfest, with a few rising Canadian stars taking the stage along with one unique act that was setting foot in this country for the first time ever.
BADBADNOTGOOD
Starting the evening was BADBADNOTGOOD, a jazz trio which initially caught the ear of many for their brilliant reinterpretations of hip-hop staples in jazz form. The group includes Ottawa native Chester Hansen, who was playing the festival for the first time after volunteering at it for many past years.
With the usual trio rounded out by pianist Matthew Tavares and drummer Alex Sowinski, tenor saxophone player Leland Whitty also made a few appearances, having been featured on the band’s past few recordings.
Their latest record, III, saw them lose the cover versions in favour of well-crafted originals – ones that stray closer to jazz than hip-hop at any given point.
These tracks made the crowd hesitant to start a mosh pit—like I’ve seen at their other performances when launching into something like Waka Flocka Flame’s “Hard In Da Paint”, but the audience stood and appreciated the technical skill on display between all four musicians. It took a cover version of TNGHT’s “Buggin” to rile them up, starting a pit so vicious you could see the cloud of dust and dirt rising from within it.
Yung Lean 
The strangest act the festival brought in might stand as one of my favourite shows of this year. At only 17 years of age, Yung Lean is one of the rap world’s most unique figures. Like Lil B ‘The BasedGod’ before him, the native of Sweden and his “Sad Boys” clique rose to prominence through discovery on YouTube, with his videos reaching over 2,000,000 views.
His nonsensical lyrics, hazy instrumentals, and associated imagery including bucket hats, Arizona Iced Tea, and Pokémon cards certainly caused some to wonder if this was all one big joke.
It certainly wasn’t on stage, as the Internet and real life seemingly became one cohesive universe over the course of the hour-long set. While some in the audience (perhaps those less familiar) watched the performance with a quizzical look on their faces, those closer to the stage went word-for-word with the young Swede on the well-known “Ginseng Strip 2002” and “The 5th Element,” as well as newer track “Yoshi City.” It was a surprisingly strong performance from the Sad Boys on their first trip to Canada, voices still hoarse from their American debut only a few days beforehand.
The Barenaked Ladies 
The Barenaked Ladies were also on hand to round out the evening, performing without former member Steven Page. As big a piece as he was to the success of the group, the remaining members have since managed to write good material and, as last night proved, put on a pretty enjoyable live show.
A large number of tracks came from their most recent record Grinning Streak, and while most in the audience weren’t overly familiar with the new fare, they were still game for sing-a-longs to classics such as “Pinch Me,” “One Week,” and “If I Had $1,000,000.”
The group paid homage to an earlier appearance from guitar legend Slash with a cover of “Paradise City,” and included a massive pop music medley with nods to Lorde and Avicii, while also covering Violent Femmes and Led Zeppelin in their three-song encore.
Jacques Greene and Ryan Hemsworth
Canadian talent behind the decks was also on full display as the evening drew onward, with Jacques Greene and Ryan Hemsworth each performing sets to an enthusiastic crowd. Born in Montréal and now based in New York, Greene is a producer who favours the sounds and styles of English house and garage musics over their American derivatives.
Hemsworth hails from Halifax, being a producer and DJ who once studied journalism at the University of King’s College. Active in creating sample-based music, his appreciation of hip-hop and R&B has led him to work with Deniro Farrar and The Underachievers, as well as remix the works of Kanye West, Grimes, Lorde, and Migos.
