A combination of cowboy hats and toques filled the crowd on the fifth day of Ottawa’s CityFolk Festival at Lansdowne’s Great Lawn during one of the coldest nights yet this fall. However, the weather did not deter the audience. As the temperature dropped, the number of festivalgoers in search of a night full of country music continued to grow.
The first and only non-Canadian act of the night was California native Tré Burt, a singer-songwriter with a distinct country and folk sound.
With just his guitar and the occasional harmonica, he played a well-received set that included songs such as “Moth’s Crossing,” as well as “Under the Devil’s Knee”—a song he wrote about police brutality following the death of Breonna Taylor.
As the sun went down over the first act of the night, Burt closed with “Sweet Misery,” his self-proclaimed “happiest song.”
Hungry for more country, the growing crowd did not have to wait long. Hamilton, Ont.-based band Whitehorse was next to take the stage.
Husband and wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland wowed the crowd with their matching denim jackets and smooth country-rock tunes, including two early releases off their upcoming album I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying, scheduled for release January 2023.
The couple partook in a few intimate moments with the audience as they shared the microphone for “Leave Me As You Found Me,” as well as “Liar Liar,” which Doucet shared he wrote about his hometown of Winnipeg, Man.
These two opening acts, while great in their own right, served for many as the build-up to the final performance, the masked cowboy and rising country music star, Orville Peck.
Peck, who has famously never shown his face in public, emerged onstage in front of a roaring crowd full of tasselled cowboy hats and leather jackets, worn in imitation of the country singer’s own iconic outfits.
In his white leather suit, black cowboy hat and mask, the 2020 Juno nominee for Best Alternative Album got the crowd dancing and jumping to hits like “C’mon Baby Cry,” “Daytona Sand” and “Buffalo Run.”
Toward the end of the show, Peck said goodnight to the crowd through an eerily beautiful performance of “Dead of Night,” off his 2019 album Pony, followed by his onstage ritual of passing out roses to fans in the audience.
While a time crunch meant Peck could not return for a highly-anticipated encore, the crowd at CityFolk did not leave disappointed after a full night of great country music.
Featured image by Sean Sisk.
