Local folk artists, international Britpop icons and headliner Morrissey united to bring nostalgia and energy to day three of CityFolk on Friday.
The crisp September air and clear skies made for perfect conditions at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park, as concertgoers donning Morrissey merch ventured through festival gates, sitting on the grass and swaying to music under the dimming sun.
The evening kicked off with homegrown Ottawa folk band School House, whose acoustic harmonies made for an intimate and heartfelt performance.
The four moustached men dressed in button-up shirts played a campfire-style set that blended upbeat rhythms with emotional melodies.
They shared stories about the band’s conception in 2021 after moving into an old Ottawa schoolhouse together and told the crowd it was their dream to play at CityFolk.
It was a “full-circle moment,” they said.
Their tracks “Away We Go” and “Morning Light” had the audience swaying to the strums of the banjo and riffs of the harmonica.
At the TD Stage, Mint Simon opened with a bold, electrifying set.
The band’s flair and vibrant stage presence brought a distinctly different energy to the evening’s more folk and Britrock focused acts. Their synth-heavy beats and strong vocals offered modernity in a festival space that leaned more on the nostalgic side.
Meanwhile, on the Fasken Stage, Montreal-based Americana singer Kaia Kater delivered a standout set with sharp lyrical storytelling.
Against the strums of her banjo and the subtle notes of the accompanying cello, Kater’s presence was calm but powerful, serenading the crowd with her soft and smoky voice.
As her heartfelt performance progressed into the evening, she played songs like “The Internet” and “Saint Elizabeth,” touching on identity and pain to carve out a moment of deep connection before the bustle of acts to follow.
Before Morrisey’s headlining set, British alt-rock legends James delivered one of the most energetic shows of the night. The band offered a profound performance that could have been a headlining set in its own right, opening with “Five-O” and an impressive violin solo from Saul Davies.
They moved to the rhythms of their songs, swaying their bodies and sending their arms into the air as they rolled into fan favourites like “Laid” and “Sometimes.”
During an unforgettable moment, lead singer Tim Booth hopped off the stage, jumped over the barricade and walked into the crowd, bouncing with fans as he sang “Getting Away With It (All Messed Up).”
Visually, the concert was just as thoughtful as it was musical. A screen behind the band played projections tailored to each song, like a white flower bursting into flames with pulsing, colour-shifting stagelights when the beat dropped in “Beautiful Beaches,” a song about California wildfires.
As fans waited in anticipation at the TD Stage for the final set of the night, a pre-show video montage of Morrissey’s inspirations, including the New York Dolls, lit up the screen before his entranc.
Morrissey’s legacy is complicated: Beloved for his music, he has come under fire for xenophobic and anti-immigrant comments, among other issues.
Despite years of controversy offstage, Morrissey’s live performance still draws a loyal following.
At CityFolk, the singer stepped into the spotlight and appeared confident as ever, offering up a set that leaned more into drama and mood than easy crowd-pleasers.
When the lights dimmed, the crowd flared to life as the intro to the legendary Smiths song “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” rang out, and Morrissey took the stage to a roar of applause.
Like the pre-show collages, Morrissey’s performance was backdropped by grainy, black and white portraits of people paired with moody lighting.
His vocals were rich and theatrical. The set leaned heavily into his solo catalogue like “Suedehead,” “Everyday Is Like Sunday” and “First of the Gang to Die,” but Smiths classics like “How Soon is Now” and “Half a Person” brought massive sing-along energy to the crowd.
His presence was all about mood: He didn’t pace or strut against the stage as he sang. Instead, he lingered, drifting from the mic to pause mid-verse and strike a pose, or lift a hand in a dramatic frustration.
Before the last song, Morrissey left the crowd with a final thought.
“Be young, be foolish, be happy, if you can,” he said. “May you never ever experience pain, and unfortunately for you, I love you.”
During the dramatic hums of closer “Irish Blood, English Heart,” festivalgoers began trickling to the exits under the cool evening breeze, putting an end to the energetic and heartfelt third day of CityFolk.
Featured image by Simon McKeown/the Charlatan
