AND WE’RE OFF! As always, 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!
The 2025 Ottawa Bluesfest kicks off Day 1 with country front and centre on the main stage, while a variety of genres are interspersed throughout the other three stages to keep non-country fans well entertained as well.
RBC Stage
6:00 pm – Rosewood Ave
7:30 pm – The Red Clay Strays
9:30 pm – Lainey Wilson
First up is Northern Ontario’s duo Rosewood Ave. The married couple’s harmonies and soulful voices add a traditional feel to their poignant ballads, and have garnered them attention and awards, including the CBC Searchlight Outstanding Country Artist. Each new single continues to build the anticipation for a debut album.
Hailing from a few thousand kilometres in the other direction, next up are The Red Clay Strays. The Alabama band struck gold when their song “Wondering Why” went viral on TikTok. Their unique blend of country, blues, and southern rock creates a sound you’d expect to hear in a roadhouse down south, with all the gritty earnestness from those genres. Both their recent albums are live recordings, which highlights just how much energy they bring to the stage.
Closing out the country(ish) set is another Southerner, Lainey Wilson. Arguably the top female country singer at the moment, the Louisiana native comes by her twang and drawl honestly, and has ridden that sound to an ever growing collection of awards, including a Grammy, and the crown jewel, Entertainer of the Year award, multiple times. Making her first trip to Ottawa, fans will finally get to see her perform her string of chart topping hits including “Watermelon Moonshine” and “Heart Like A Truck” on an Ottawa stage.
TALK’s guitarist and Spartacat at Ottawa Bluesfest 2024. Photo: Landon Entwistle
River Stage
6:15 pm – DB Cohen
7:45 pm – Melbourne Ska Orchestra
9:15 pm – Father John Misty
As usual, Bluesfest organizers try to showcase local talent amidst the international lineup, and one such artist getting the opportunity to hit the festival stage is Ottawa (by way of London, UK) funky bluesman DB Cohen. The infusion of ska horns make for surprisingly danceable blues, especially on tracks like “Dinner Party.” While his latest single “Manchild” (he had it out first, Sabrina!) may have less horns, the track could serve as a perfect soundtrack to an old bayou haunt.
If horns are your thing, then stay right there, as the Melbourne Ska Orchestra will have enough brass to satisfy every taste. With over 30 members that can show up at any given show, you’re bound to have a stage full of performers all in sync, with just a hint of chaos. With over 20 years under their collective belts, their creative takes on TV themes, from “Get Smart” to “Family Guy,” will answer the question: what if these shows existed in an alternate ska universe? The result is as fun as you can imagine.
Closing out the River stage, the same stage his former bandmates the Fleet Foxes performed on in 2023, is troubadour/performance artist Father John Misty. Always difficult to describe, the indie folk rocker has established himself as a formidable songwriter, and an even more formidable contrarian when it comes to the music industry. Last year’s compilation album Greatish Hits: I Followed My Dreams and My Dreams Said to Crawl encapsulates both his musical gifts as well as his refusal to do anything conventional. His 2017 CityFolk set was one of the most memorable of that year’s festival, and with eight more years of material to pull from, this year’s should be one for the ages.
Shred Kelly at Bluesfest, July 2024. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
LeBreton Stage
5:45 pm – Garnetta Cromwell & DaGroovmasters
7:00 pm – Chambers DesLauriers
8:15 pm – The Cat Empire
The more intimate LeBreton Stage under the tent behind the main stage features a variety of bluesy flavours, starting with Garnetta Cromwell, accompanied by DaGroovmasters backing band, taking Cromwell’s soulful vocals and layering them over bouncy funk rhythms.
Next up is Chambers DesLauriers, the combo of Annika Chambers on the mic and Paul DesLauriers on guitar. It’s hard to pick which is more powerful and bluesy of the two, but the interplay and result is enough to answer emphatically the most hardened “Why is it called BLUESfest?” questioner.
The Smile at Bluesfest, July 2023. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
If the Melbourne Ska Orchestra wasn’t enough Aussie content on the day, more Melburnians close out the tent on Day 1. The Cat Empire certainly has fewer members than their counterparts, but nonetheless, the horns will be just as present, though the Cat Empire dials down the ska just a tad, mixing in more funk and jazz ingredients into their blend. At the end of the night, fans will be able to say: ‘If I had a nickel for every Melbourne ska-fusion bands I’ve seen at Bluesfest today, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.’
Barney Danson Theatre
6:30 pm – Riley Burns
8:00 pm – Linka Moja
9:30 pm – Chambers DesLauriers
Meanwhile, complementing the country on the main stage, the theatre will kick off the programming with local country-folk artist Riley Burns. Given the stripped down production on his songs, the intimacy of the Barney Danson stage will be fitting, and help accentuate his heartfelt songwriting.
Likely the most ‘rock’ artist on the night, Linka Moja takes the stage next, following in the footsteps of indie women taking a DIY approach to telling their stories with solid alt-rock soundtracks. Her cover of “Where Is My Mind” by The Pixies (who’ll be here shortly!) showcases her impeccable vocals while still imparting the song with emotion.
Back this year is the two DJ setups, with the Spin Stage featuring DJ Karyen, while The Crazy Horse Saloon returns after a successful debut last year, with DJMC manning the aux.
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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