Bluesfest

enjoyed two days here this year, the music was great — Dixie Chicks and Great Big Sea… sadly couldn’t try any food or drinks because of the line ups… the one thing i did notice was that although it looked like alot of variety of foods, they all had the same tents and style of signs… not very colourful or creative.

So far so great… Spent my whole weekend filling my ears with a wonderful array of musical genres that Ottawa dubs Bluesfest and in a word — marvellous (think Billy Crystal SNL days). Despite the off and on rain, soggy grass and mud I will do it all over again next year.
Food selection was fabulous — well done Bluesfest organizers — the only thing my friends and I thought was missing was a good old fashioned ice cream stand, in the heat and humidity of the weekend a couple of scoops would have been really sweet.
The line-​up — superb — who me drew me to Lebreton flats this weekend– Zack Brown Band, Dixie Chicks, DJ Akro, Hunter Hayes, Teagan and Sarah, and FUN.
Zack Brown was a rocking good time, they even threw in a little Enter Sandman which had the crowd bowing even more to their musical super powers.
Dixie Chicks — where have you been, I’ve missed you. Welcome back to Ottawa and you were brilliant — I sang every word to every song along with the rest of the audience — I even had to dig out all my cds of yours the minute I got home.
FUN. was the last band I squeezed in for my time at Bluesfest this year and can I just say they were FUN! and appreciative — I love when a band loves you back and remembers their humble beginnings, please come back again soon.

Ok I’m bringing my review down two stars. Ottawa Bluesfest, please tell me why after all these years of running a successful festival which has exponentially grown in popularity, would you change EVERYTHING this year? The passports are now so expensive I’m not going, $ 199 for a youth passport, which is up $ 100 from last year. Honestly, I was expecting an increase in price since last year was amazing, and I would even consider $ 150 fair, but a $ 100 hike in price? No freaking way. And you know what? Maybe if the line up was great like Osheaga I’d pay that, BUT IT ISN’T! LMFAO, Snoop Dog?, Skrillex AGAIN. How the hell is that blues? Who are they trying to attract? 14 year old girls? Now, I realize I just pissed off all the 14 year old girls reading this, and good music and bad music differs from person to person, but this is supposed to be a Bluesfest… Are there even any blues artists playing? How are these adolescent kids who want to see LMFAO and Carly Rae Jepsen going to be able to afford these passes? How are they going to sell the Empire Pass?
I think they need to go back to the audience they appealed to before this year, which was pretty much every age group. From A Perfect Circle to Nick Jonas (lawl), they had something for everyone, and I mean NEW acts that we never had, so many of these bands we’ve had in previous years. This year I see 3 artists that appeal to me, 2 of which they had last year, I’m not paying that ridiculous price to see them again.
Osheaga looks good, check that out.
Ok apparently it’s Carly Rae Jepsen, not Jensen. To the people that corrected me: I take pride in not knowing that.

This is certainly Ottawa’s most successful festival. It has grown from a small venue in a crowded park across from City Hall to now at a very suitable and large venue near the Canadian War Museum.
It’s hard to find much to criticize this festival for when they seem to do things so well every year.
If you’re a local I’d suggest volunteering for the event (there are many different roles you can take on) as that gets you free tickets to some concerts (depending on how much time you put in).
Hotels are hard to get during this festival as a lot of people filter into Ottawa from out town. If you don’t like the bands just scan the schedule on the various different stages over the festival’s two weeks — you’ll find SOMEONE you like.
It’s hardly «blues» anymore as entertainers have ranged from KISS to Keith Urban to Kanye and now they’ve added stand up comedians to one of the stages.
I would advise not driving to the site since it’s located on the transit way. Either walk, take a cab or bus to Lebreton.
Depending on the act you expect a lot of smoke — and I don’t just mean cigarette smoke — so if you don’t like it be warned that you may have to stand back from the stage.
There are lots of food vendors on the premises along with beer gardens.

I loved this festival. My father and I went to the RUSH concert earlier this month and it was a great experience. I wish that we’d brought lawn chairs because it was wicked crowded and we ended up sitting on the grass for a while so that we didn’t end up a mile away from the stage when it finally started.
I think the most unexpected part of the festival for me was the awesome food and drinks. I went in expecting that I’d have some half-​soggy fries or something equally unappealing for dinner, but instead I had some solid Thai food and 4 different kinds of beer from Mill St. I knew that the beer was going to be there from looking at the website, but I was still impressed by the variety. I’m always happy to be drinking something other than Bud/​Miller/​Coors.
Also, the outhouse set up was fabulous. I have never been to an event like that where I didn’t wait forever to go to the bathroom and then end up in a horrible little cubicle. And after all that beer I was having, it was a concern. But there was no need to worry – they were prepared and I didn’t wait at all. I did get propositioned by a shirtless, potbellied man who was my father’s age while at the sinks, but whatever.
The only disappointment was the «Artisan’s Village». It was pretty tiny and didn’t have much that I was interested in. If you’re into henna tattoos, though, that’s the place to be. Oh, and parking’s a pain in the ass. We parked about 10 minutes away in a neighborhood and then walked to the festival. I was worried that maybe it’d be hard to find the car afterwards, but my dad had it all figured out and a backup plan (call the cops and ask if they knew where the car with the Texas plates was).

Perhaps this is a cocky move, but without research I’m going to claim that this is one of Ottawa’s most popular and lucrative festivals. It has to be. This Blues festival is one of the largest in the world and for some reason it’s in Ottawa. It’s also one of Canada’s largest outdoor music events. The 11 day line up of local, national and international musicians attracts music lovers from across Canada and beyond. During that time, a slew of performers grace multiple stages, most of which are situated at LeBreton Flats, which is a large, centrally located venue that’s perfect for the festival. Many people plan their schedule around this festival when it’s in town, usually because they buy a $ 200 unlimited access bracelet for the entire festival’s performances. It’s a great deal if you use it well.
Unfortunately, the price of tickets will most likely increase next year since the City of Ottawa wants to cut all funding to festivals. This will no doubt impact the affordability of this festival and the caliber of musicians it will be able to attract. This is despite the fact that Bluesfest generates about $ 60 million dollars for the National Capital Region. Aaanyway…
I should also mention that the festival’s name is a misnomer. It’s actually rare that you find Blues at Bluesfest. You’ll definitely find a mishmash of styles and performances, but it’s usually Rock that you’ll hear.