July in Ottawa, Ontario can mean only one thing: hockey. Of course, the "real" Canadian national sport (apologies to lacrosse sticklers) can dominate discussion every month of the year, in every Canadian city, in every Tim Horton's coffee shop, but this year Ottawans have the added frustrating issue of Senators' star Dany Heatley's trade demands to dissect and rant about. Talk of this particular selfish spoiled brat may never subside, but it will certainly decrease during the next 11 days, for tonight is the beginning wildly popular annual Bluesfest!
Now in its 16th year, the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest doesn't sing the blues much anymore, but it has grown into one of the nation's biggest festivals, featuring a truly international roster of rock, non-Western musics, alternative, indie, jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, folk, and, yes, blues artists. Given the length of the festival and the amount of sponsors helping with the event, it is no surprise that the festival attracts a mixed bag of older and newer big-name artists on its stages, but attention is also given to providing exposure to artists from Ottawa, the surrounding valley, and throughout the country, as well as providing aid to associated educational and charitable organizations.
Full searchables can be found here, but we have listed some notables playing the main grounds and the nearby market area of Ottawa below. In between bouts of severe alcohol consumption and main-stage streaking, TMT's local heroes munroe and yours truly may even find time to post a live review or two over the next 12 days.
Lebreton Flats festival shows include: Alan Parsons Live Project, Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Black Mountain, Blue Rodeo, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Buckwheat Zydeco, Busta Rhymes, Cake, Clem Snide, Cotton Jones, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, Dave Mason, Deer Tick, DeVotchKa, Dead Weather, Drive-By Truckers, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force, Girl Talk, Gym Class Heroes, Handsome Furs, Holy Fuck, Ice Cube, Iron & Wine, Jackson Browne, Japandroids, Jeff Beck, Jennifer Warnes, Joe Cocker, John Vanderslice, K'Naan, King Kahn & BBC Show, King Sunny Ade and His African Beats, KISS, Les Claypool, Live, Los Lonely Boys, Ludacris, Lynyrd Skynyrd, M83, Matisyahu, Metric, Mick Taylor, Neko Case, Okkervil River, Ornette Coleman, Our Lady Peace, Paulo Nutini, Rachael Yamagata, Sam Roberts Band, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Shout Out Out Out Out, Spencer Davis, Steve Earle, Stone Temple Pilots, Styx, The Black Keys, The Church, The Dodos, The Duhks, The National, The Stills, The Yardbirds, The Zombies, Toots & the Maytals, Van der Graaf Generator, Xavier Rudd, YaHoWha 13, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and many more.
Byward Market outdoor downtown shows, club dates, and DJ sets will feature: Broken Social Scene, Lee Scratch Perry, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, The Proclaimers, RjD2, Arrested Development (plus a DJ set by AD's Search), Think About Life, Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) DJ set, Peter Murphy, DJ Rekha, Kid Koala, Sebastien Grainger, Ohbijou, Thunderheist, Mistress Barbara, The Tom Fun Orchestra, Great Lake Swimmers, The Juan MacLean, Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials, Basia Bulat, and others.
