If you’re an Ottawa local, you’ve heard of Bluesfest. If you’re into music, or the festival scene, you’ve probably been. Confession time: I’m not a huge music fan. I don’t listen to a whole lot of music (preferring podcasts or background TV), so I’ve never been to Bluesfest in the 24 years I’ve lived in Ottawa. However, my boyfriend is a big music fan, and wanted to go to the festival while visiting Ottawa. So off we go to Bluesfest 2019 with a full week pass!

The Site

The site for the music festival is Lebreton Flats Park outside of the Canadian War Museum. The site works really well, as there are 3 music stages and the large cement building is a great way to block the noise that you think would carry between them. Bonus: you can cut through the Museum to jump between stages fast! It’s a beautiful location, with a great view of the sunset over the Ottawa River, and the interesting architecture of the War Museum acting as a subtle centerpiece to the festival.

It’s also easily accessible by bus, being just off of the Transit way, but trying to catch a bus back after the headlining show has turned out to be a bit of a nightmare because of the crowds. I would recommend chilling at the bus stop until the crowds have dissipated.

The Music

Bluesfest has a great blend of major headliners, moderately popular (“oh, I’ve heard of them!”) artists, and local performers. Everything from the iconic Backstreet Boys to a local fiddle-and-step group from Carleton Place (which was amazing, by the way). I’m glad that we’ve been checking out some acts that are not the major headliners. I’m not one to talk about discovering new music, but it’s definitely been worth going to the alternate stages and seeing acts like the Carleton County Crew, Busty and the Bass, and Devil Makes Three, which I enjoyed much more than some of the headliners (like Logic, who was fine, but I didn’t find worth sticking around for).

The Shows

CHVRCHES had the first set I saw at Bluesfest, and even though I’ve heard of them, I hadn’t really heard their music until now and I loved it. The singer was absolutely adorable and candid onstage, and their music is definitely going in my Spotify library. ALT-J, who headlined that night, is going on there as well.

The Killers headlined on the first Sunday, and they -being the Vegas showmen they are- blew my mind. When I was in eighth grade and early high school, I listened to Day and Age so much. Like, an amount that I forgot how much until they started playing Spaceman and Dustland Fairytale and I still new all the words and was almost crying at the show because I’m a big nerd. Whew. The visual spectacle of the show combined with the set chock-full of iconic songs (Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young, Mr. Brightside) was everything I could have hoped for. The show kind of made me why people get so excited about live music and concerts, and even though I’ve loved a lot of the other shows, it’s still a stand-out in my mind.

The Offspring played on Friday the 12th, and was my first introduction to the live rock scene, and to the chaos that comes with standing crazy close to the stage at a 90s punk band. A lot of beer cans getting yeeted around the spectators, several crowd surfers getting nabbed by security, and exciting proximity to a very active mosh pit. I wasn’t super familiar with the band’s music, though some of the songs I did recognize. The kind of songs that I’ve heard before but wouldn’t have been able to place the title or artist if you played it for me, you know? Anyway, it was probably the best atmosphere for a major show at the festival, because it was chock full of energy the entire time, and despite the relative violence of the audience, there was nothing but positive vibes throughout the set. Similar vibes to James, another 90s rock band that played a few days earlier.

Two days in a row we got some pretty major hip-hop shows: One night we caught T-Pain on the secondary stage, overgoing Alexisonfire for this fun bop of a show. Though not the best show of the festival, it was a lot of fun listening to very nostalgic “middle school music” performed by T-Pain having way too much fun onstage, and to hear him cover a collection of songs that showcased the vocal talents that most of us in the audience didn’t know he had (covering Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”, for example). Just such a fun show.

The night after was a double set of Wu-Tang Clan and Snoop Dogg. Stormy weather set back the show by about an hour, but getting drenched in a flash rain storm in order to hold onto our great spot right up close to the stage was a) worth it, and b) a great memory. I’m definitely not a connoisseur of old-school hiphop, but again, the shows are all about energy and hooooly shit people were into Wu-Tang Clan. I think that’s what’s starting to click with me about live music — the music being performed is secondary to the vibes of the performer and the audience. I can’t say that the music being performed isn’t important though, as I enjoyed Snoop Dogg’s performance more out of the two because I know his music. Surprisingly, Snoop’s show inspired a lot more violence in the crowds than any other show in the past week, and at several points we were uncomfortably close to some very aggressive mosh-type fights (and not in a fun Offspring kind of way). However, when the set was finishing up with “Young and Wild and Free” chanted by thousands of fans, ended on a beautiful moment.

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The Backstreet Boys closed off the festival on Sunday night. Before they played, we checked out Sugar Ray Rayford. His set was super fun, and his personality shone through as he told stories and rocked the stage with his soul music. Though Bluesfest’s current lineups are a mix of genres, its roots are in blues, and I’m glad that we had the opportunity to catch such an amazing R&B set.

The Backstreet Boys were also a treasure to see, with their group chemistry seeming as strong as ever after 26 years. The chemistry on stage was a delight to watch, and I can see why they were such teen heartthrobs earlier in their careers. I kind of missed out on the original BSB hype (though I remember hearing about them from girls at school), but they have so many hits that of course I recognized them. They were also playing samples of songs from their most rcent album, which is the best way to get people listening. There were some artists that played some songs from their newest releases and it causes a bit of a lull in the audience as most people don’t know those new songs. By doing little samples of their new music, they were able to encourage audiences to check out their new songs without lengthy disruption to the concert’s energy. And bless these boys for maybe not entirely understanding that people don’t buy albums anymore. I’ll give the album a listen on Spotify though!

The Vibes

So beyond the music itself, what is Bluesfest like?

I don’t have a lot of judgement relative to other festivals (as Bluesfest has been my first music festival!) but I loved it! Besides the music, there is lots to do. A surprisingly wide variety of food options, and plenty of drink tents. Drink tents serving coolers as well as beer! Some sponsored booths had free cooler samples (that I have already tried but will pretend I haven’t in order to get free samples). Other sponsored booths included a soundproof karaoke box, a Xbox-Kinect style dance game, and some Instagram opportunities. Companies were really going above and beyond to have engaging booths, and I thought that was really neat.

There were also a small carnival area. After all, what is a music festival if there’s not a Ferris Wheel to take a picture in front of? Plus, a lot of the prizes of the carnival games were giant stuffed Pokémon, and it was fun to see a giant Pikachu or Jigglypuff floating around on top of the crowds. Nearby to the carnival area they also had an area set aside for some Ottawa youth art projects, which were set up by my old high school teacher! It was great to run into her and chat, and to see some of the projects that her students have been working on. Plus, I think it’s such a good idea to give this opportunity to young artists. Like the young fiddlers and dancers with the Carleton County Crew, giving young people such a public platform to showcase their talents and passions is a very cool thing to see. That’s going to be such a cool memory for those students!

The last little area that we hung out in was the “Big Chill” area. With a DJ Spin Stage (featuring my lowkey favourite and official Sens DJ DJ Prosper) and some good seating options, it was a really nice alternative to standing around the main field between shows. It was my favourite spot to people watch. There were some big versions of Connect Four, and it was fun to chill out in the shade and watch people play. Bluesfest just had such a great mix of high and low energy moments for me, and it was all great.

The only thing that I didn’t love about the festival? The crowds. Is it always crowded? No, it depends on the day of the week and who is playing at the time. Are the crowds always a bad thing? No. Sometimes the crowds are great, like during the Offspring show as I mentioned above. But crowds are crowds, and it can be a bit overwhelming. I’ve come to learn that I don’t mind crowds when they are stationary – as they are during a concert – but I do not like having to shuffle along in a slow-moving crowd. It makes me quite anxious, but since we don’t put pressure on ourselves to rush or catch the first bus out, it’s manageable.

Crowds aside, I really loved Bluesfest. I loved the variety of people to watch. I loved the variety of music. I loved the high energy of the concerts and the relaxed atmosphere of the time in between. I’m really excited to attend my next festival, which is looking to be Download festival, a rock and metal festival in the UK.

PS: Sorry I’m not the best at writing about or describing music. Or musical performances. I doubt that any description I can write would truly hold a candle to the quality of the performances. Hope you liked it anyway!