The first night of the CityFolk music festival was hosted at Lansdowne’s Aberdeen Pavilion on Thursday night, one of the biggest live music events in Ottawa since the city went into its first lockdown 18 months ago.
Those attending the festival had to be fully vaccinated and comply with extensive COVID-19 screening procedures, such as agreeing to a “Festival Fan Health Pledge.”
The event drew audience members of all ages including students, families and couples.
First on the stage was TÖME, a Nigerian-French Canadian singer-songwriter. She opened the night with some of her biggest hits such as Champagne and All To You. The bilingual artist combined upbeat pop beats with the rhythm of reggae to create the unique sounds known as Afro-fusion.
TÖME partnered with the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) music fund to give the audience a performance that included singing, dancing, talking and guitar playing. Although the Juno Award winner had a smaller crowd than the artists who performed later in the night, everyone present was still moving, dancing and singing along with her within the first 10 minutes of her set.
Her conversations with the audience between songs were interactive and energetic. She continuously asked her audience how they were enjoying the return to live music, while also expressing her own happiness to be back on stage. With this seemingly infectious happiness, TÖME set an amazing vibe to start off the night.
Next to take the stage was Roy Woods. Woods’ chill and moody mixing of R&B and rap made for the perfect act to carry on the vibes already started by TÖME. The 25-year-old artist was met with lots of enthusiasm from the crowd as he performed some of the hits from his 2016 album Waking at Dawn, such as Down Girl, as well as Get You Good from his 2015 album Exis.
Woods even got the crowd to head to the barricade at the front of the stage for a sequence of dancing, jumping and vibing to his music. The audience seemed to favour Woods’ performance of Drama (feat. Drake) and his new release Touch You.
R&B duo DVSN, who are signed to Drake’s label OVO Sound, also came out in full force during their 8 p.m. set after Woods. The sound artists performed some of their biggest hits, including songs from their 2020 album A Muse in Her Feelings and songs from their collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, Cheers to the Best Memories, which was released in late August.
By talking to the crowd, DVSN was easily able to get the audience moving to the beat. They even let a small group of people in the crowd pick the last song of the set, Hallucinations.
After a short break when many enjoyed local food trucks, Charlotte Day Wilson stepped onto the stage. She brought with her a plethora of musical instruments, background singers and a live band, which set her apart from the other artists of the night. Using her ethereal sound, the 25-year-old vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist stimulated musical bliss within the crowd during her set.
Her deep vocals and melodies helped the audience to mellow out after the more high-energy performances of the night. The crowd seemed very reflective and thankful for the music surrounding them during her rock and R&B set, which made her the perfect artist to end the night.
Cityfolk night one appeared to be a success. The festival created a sense of joyful energy that would’ve been hard to replicate in a virtual concert. Everyone who was in attendance seemed to truly appreciate the live music provided by the all-Canadian lineup.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
