Canadian rockers Arkells got Lebreton Flatts shaking July 6 as thousands of fans gathered around the River Stage at this year’s Bluesfest to rock out to some of their top hits.
The five-piece, JUNO award-winning band consisting of Max Kerman, Mike DeAngelis, Nick Dika, Tim Osford and Dan Griffin, played a 30-minute set, which included some of their most popular hits such as “Michigan Left,” “Whistleblower,” “Oh, The Boss is Coming!” and “Deadlines.”
As the alt-rock band took the stage at 7 :45 p.m., the crowd of young adults — who were already mildly drunk —danced, sang, and a few crowd-surfed to the music in the summer heat.
“Ottawa, thank you so much for letting us be a part of Bluesfest, we really mean it. This is a world class festival and we’re really proud to be a part of it,” lead singer Kerman said.
[The Arkells are] the best music for any college or university student to listen to. They have a song for every single thing like love, school, work,” Arkells fan Tom Epps said.
Once the Arkells got off stage, it was clear the crowd was there to see them perform rather than headlining band Sleigh Bells. Most of the crowd walked away as soon as the set was over and didn’t return once Sleigh Bells came on.
Perhaps the Arkells should have headlined at the River Stage that night as they attracted a larger audience.
Later, at 9 :30 p.m., the Bluesfest mood changed when City and Colour’s Dallas Green took over the Main Stage and performed his soft melodies for an hour and a half.
The crowd of thousands sat down together and listened quietly to Green’s songs.
It was as though the crowd was paying homage to Green’s music as they sat quietly throughout each song, but cheered loudly as soon as they were over.
However, at times, Green stood quietly on stage with a sort of amazed look on his face while he listened to his fans sing his songs by heart.
Green performed some of his most popular songs such as Body In A Box, Sleeping Sickness and Fragile Bird.
Although Green created a very relaxed mood to Bluesfest that evening, his set was distracted multiple times from the loudness coming from other stages around the site as well as the many bugs that were flying around him.
“I’m having a staring contest with the bugs,” Green said in between songs which added a bit of humor to a very calm environment.
After an hour or so of performing, Green waved to crowd and only spoke a word. “Goodnight,” he said and walked off stage. He then returned few moments later to perform a couple more songs which included one of his older hits Coming Home as well as a cover of Neil Young’s You Are Like A Hurricane.
From the Arkells rock ‘n’ roll to City and Colour’s soft acoustic tunes, July 6th was definitely a night almost anyone could enjoy at Bluesfest.
