Ottawa Bluesfest

Once a year--excluding a few COVID years--Ottawa hosts a music festival knowns as Ottawa Bluesfest. Despite the name, all genres of popular music are represented: rock, pop, rap, country, and, yes, sometimes even blues.

This is always exciting because Ottawa is not a musical city. Most big musicians only visit here every couple of tours, if they ever do. That's one thing that I've always envied about Toronto, who seem to get all the best concerts.

But there's always something for me to look forward to at Bluesfest. Foo Fighters put on a legendary show  a few years back, and they're making their return this summer. Aside from seeing Foo Fighters again, I'm looking forward to Weezer (who I have never seen live before) and Tegan and Sara (who I have seen live several times).

Granted, a Bluesfest show does have its drawbacks. I'm at the age where my back protests if I stand for too long--and since Bluesfest is an outdoor concert, standing is the norm. Bands also usually have less time to perform, which means that at least a few songs get cut from the set. I'd rather see my favourite bands at the National Arts Centre than at Bluesfest--but I'm not complaining.

Aside from the bands I already like, there are all the bands I don't know yet. Bluesfest is a great opportunity to find new music. I first heard about Larkin Poe when they performed at Bluesfest a number of years ago, and they're one of my favourite bands now. Sometimes, I'll look some of the new-to-me bands up on Spotify or Apple Music beforehand, but I don't think I'll do that this year. I'll probably read the blurbs on whichever acts will fit into my schedule, and I'll buy their albums at the merch table if I like their songs, but I'll hear them live before I check out their studio tracks.

A lot of people go to Bluesfest for one band, but, for me, it's an event. There's usually one or two bands that I love and that I really want to see, but I relish the entire experience--getting to walk around outside for a day, checking out lesser-known musicians, all building up to the big performance at the end of the day.

I can't wait to go to Bluesfest again this year.

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