APT613 will have wall-to-wall coverage of the festival, with daily previews, occasional interviews, and the best photos from each set, on each stage, on each day. We’ve got you!
For anyone that brings up the whole “Ottawa is a boring city” trope, use today as an example: HOPE Volleyball features Sloan, Hawksley Workman, the Glorious Sons and Lazzy Lung, Atletico has a game in the afternoon, the Titans play ball at 6, and Bluesfest has an amazing lineup. Yup, totally uneventful. (Pro tip: ALWAYS check out our Weekend Roundup to make sure you don’t miss anything happening around town!)
After a fantastic evening with Hozier last night, Day 3 ramps up the rock for an ideal Saturday night out, with some mellower options scattered around the Flats if you need a break.
The Shed (Sparks St)
3:30 pm – Birds of Bellwoods
First up, expanding beyond the festival grounds, organizers have a small series of pop-up sets over the two weekends, starting off with Toronto’s Birds of Bellwoods finally making their return to town with a free set. Given they’ve essentially been off the grid for the past two years, it will be interesting to see what their sound has morphed into during that time.
RBC Stage
6:00 pm – Kurt Vile & The Violators
7:30 pm – Pixies
9:30 pm – TURNSTILE
Easing fans into a night of alt rock through the ages, Kurt Vile & The Violators bring a jam band quality to the mix. With nine albums and almost 20 EPs released to date, the prolific songwriter continues to churn out stellar mellow rock. Festival goers may want to find a nice comfortable spot on the grass for this set, and save up energy for later.
To call The Pixies legends is an understatement. They are arguably one of the most influential alt rock bands of all time, and the scenes they helped spawn have changed music, and the world, ever since. Their debut Surfer Rosa, and seminal follow-up album Doolittle, which includes their first breakout hits “Monkey Gone to Heaven” and “Here Comes Your Man,” established the Boston rockers, and served as a catalyst for a generation of alt rock musicians to build from. Their legendary gig at Porter Hall is one of those that has gone down in the city’s history. Not only would we not have grunge without them, given a Pixies’ set inspired Perry Ferrell to create Lollapalooza, bringing European festival culture to North America, we might not even have a Bluesfest without them.
In a symbolic passing of the torch, we go from alt icons to the next generation, as Turnstile get the honour of closing out the Saturday night main stage. You’d be forgiven if the lineup announcement caught you off guard, as these post-punk rockers had been flying under the radar for most of their first decade of existence. Their sound evolved from the hardcore punk of their 2010s to a much more varied range by the end of the decade, and 2021’s Glow On broke them into the mainstream, to the point they were nominated for a Grammy. That expanding sound was evident on their latest release, this year’s Never Enough, which combines their punk origins with pop and dreamy soundscapes — whatever they might find interesting. “I Care” for example sounds like a completely different genre than “Sole”, which is pure hardcore. The name recognition might not be as ubiquitous, but it’s just a matter of time if they keep releasing albums like these.
River Stage
6:15 pm – Melissa Ouimet
7:45 pm – Shaina Hayes
9:15 pm – Men I Trust
St. Albert native Melissa Ouimet continues the string of singer-songwriters bringing French-language songs to the festival this year. With her latest singles this year, including the upbeat “Disco Ball”, fans are impatiently awaiting her new album this year, her first full-length since her 2016 debut.
Next up on the River Stage, Gaspésie’s Shaina Hayes brings her dreamy soft spoken folk songs to life, a perfect backdrop to find a comfortable spot on the grassy hill, lay back and allow yourself to be carried away on her lyrical clouds. “Kindergarten Heart” and “Sun and Time” will have you miles away in no time.
While you’re drifting somewhere over the St. Laurent, Quebec City’s Men I Trust will take over with their own dream-pop soundscapes, trading acoustic guitar for synths and atmospherics, but still very much as ethereal. With not one, but two full length albums released this year, Equus Asinus and Equus Caballus, they’ll have no shortage of new material to debut.
Sue Foley is a local who has since grabbed attention all around North America with her blues mastery. Photo: Landon Entwistle/Apt613.
LeBreton Stage
5:45 pm – André Bisson
7:00 pm – Sue Foley
8:15 pm – The Budos Band
The tent stage this Saturday has a pair of award winning blues artists, starting with André Bisson. His most recent album, Latchford, adds to his growing catalog of blues and soul, weaving in traditional instrumentation through a stellar backing band.
The Bluesfest Queen takes to the stage next, as Sue Foley adds yet another notch to her festival belt. Starting in 1996, she has made repeated appearances, ensuring the blues remain represented. Her latest album, last year’s One Guitar Woman, unplugs her fiery electric guitar and allows her to prove she’s a master on acoustic too.
Lastly, The Budos Band closes the night in the eclectic way only they can. Psych rock? Jazz? Funk? Soul? Whatever genres you want to ascribe to the Staten Island group likely fits, but also doesn’t begin to encompass all of their sounds. Their instrumentals could be soundtracks to 70s B movies, with their combination of guitars and horns all feeling like they just came out of the back of a smoky carpeted van.
Barney Danson Theatre
6:00 pm – Emerging Artist Showcase
8:00 pm – Rosie’s Smokehouse Deluxe
9:30 pm – Sue Foley
This year’s emerging artist showcase features a powerful lineup of local women taking the stage. Hannah Vig, Miss McLeod, Robin Kenny and Sam Stone will all get to grace the theatre with a short set, introducing them as part of the next generation of Bluesfest artists.
No, the next band is not a food truck. The smoke they generate is from their roots rock which fills their debut album, last year’s Welcome to the Smokehouse, blending old school rock & roll with blues which wouldn’t be out of place in any roadhouse.
A twist with the DJs tonight, as DJ Karyen remains at the Spin Stage, but DJ Kwame takes over at The Crazy Horse Saloon.
Keep checking APT613 for our daily previews to get you ready for your excursion to the festival, and then again afterwards for our daily photos to either jog your memories – or instigate FOMO.
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