CityFolk Festival 2022 presented its last performances on Saturday to a grateful and enraptured crowd. People of all ages came out to see the show, despite looming grey clouds overhead.
Shovels & Rope, the openers for the evening, faced a spotty audience at first. Although the threat of rain might have scared fans away, the band continued to play with significant passion and dedication to their audience. Throughout the set, the crowd slowly funneled into Lansdowne Park.
As they set up their blankets, chairs and lunch boxes, audience members were treated to Shovel & Rope’s upbeat blend of folk and rock music. The husband and wife duo, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, shared looks and smiles during their performance and chatted with the crowd between songs. Onlookers wrapped their arms around their partners’ waists and swayed to the music.
Their passionate performances of songs such as “The Devil Is All Around” and “O’ Be Joyful” served as the perfect mood setters for an evening of music sung from the heart. Hearst’s bouncing brown curls and animated expressions were like something out of a cowboy film starring Dolly Parton.
As dusk settled on the park, Sarah Harmer was next to take the stage. She smiled and waved to delighted fans in the audience as she began to strum her acoustic guitar. She released her most recent album Are You Gone in 2020 after a decade-long hiatus from music, however, she said the COVID-19 pandemic prevented her from touring at the time of the album’s release.
The Canadian folk singer looked comfortable and at home on the CityFolk stage. She performed hits such as “Don’t Get Your Back Up” and “St. Peter’s Bay,” which had the crowd swaying their arms in the air to raise their cellphone flashlights or lighters to the sky.
On top of her work as a musician, Harmer is a vocal environmental activist. She spoke at CityFolk about Mount Nemo in Burlington, Ont., which she has been striving to protect from the gravel mining industry. Taking advantage of her platform in the figurative and literal senses, Harmer implored guests to attend the climate strike in Ottawa on Sept. 23 and to vote in the Ottawa municipal election on Oct. 24.
Lansdowne was packed by the time Harmer took a bow and left the stage. Night had settled and stars were glittering above the audience members’ heads. The only star these guests cared about, though, was the last performer of the night: John Fogerty.
Fogerty was once the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of Creedence Clearwater Revival, whose biggest hits like “Bad Moon Rising” and “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” are still loved by people of all ages. The crowd exploded with excitement as Fogerty jumped onstage and started fiercely strumming his electric guitar.
Between songs, Fogerty introduced his sons Shane and Tyler, who were performing alongside him. In honour of Shane’s recent marriage, Fogerty played “Joy of My Life,” which he wrote for his wife Julie and released in 1997.
His distinct sound, blended with unbelievable solos on the saxophone and keyboard, kept all eyes glued to the stage. Fogerty performed every song with an ear-to-ear grin stretched across his face as he lived and breathed on the adrenaline of a good show.
Fogerty’s high energy and intense music was a fitting finale to another year of the CityFolk Festival in Ottawa.
Featured image by Sean Sisk.
