APT613 will provide wall-to-wall coverage of the festival, featuring daily previews, occasional interviews, and the best photos from each set on each stage, every day. We’ve got you!
After a spectacular night that will go down in Bluesfest history, it’s going to be tough to repeat that level of performance today. But if that glorious Friday night was due to rock on the main stage, how about we do it again tonight? That said, if rock is not your jam, there are plenty of other artists that are bound to hit the right note for your tastes. Including a stage entirely devoted to (believe it or not) Blues!
World Exchange Plaza
3:30pm—The New Hires
First up, even before the festival gates open, make sure to check out Ottawa’s indie rock darlings The New Hires, who’ll be playing a free show at the World Exchange as part of the festival’s offsite programming. And with The New Hires, the showcase is bound to catch plenty of downtown wanderers off guard with just how good the guys sound live, and their level of energy in their performances. If you have plans, cancel them—you don’t want to miss this set.
RBC Stage
6pm—We Were Sharks
7:30pm—Daughtry
9:30pm—Papa Roach
If you were paying attention to Apt613 before Bluesfest, you’d have heard about We Were Sharks’ warm-up gig at The Dominion Tavern earlier this month. Based on that performance, despite not having played live in years, they had little rust to work out and churned out a string of bangers across the board. With the recent pop-punk resurgence, the timing could not be better for the “band formerly known as Sharks” to get back out here.
Next up on the main stage are rock bands that have built on their early successes to become mainstays on the scene for over a decade each. First is Daughtry, who broke out in 2006 with a debut album that spawned multiple hits (“Over You,” “It’s Not Over,” and “Home”), and brought them to Ottawa on the subsequent tour for the only time they’ve made a stop here. With five more albums since, and over a dozen hits, the set list is bound to feature plenty of songs never performed on an Ottawa stage.
Despite predating Daughtry, Papa Roach has never played Ottawa, though they’ve played over 100 shows in Canada over the years, so they are certainly overdue. For fans who have been waiting a quarter century to hear “Last Resort” live, now is your chance, as well as selections from their ten studio albums, up to their most recent single, “Even If It Kills Me,” which already topped the charts on both sides of the border.
River Stage
6:15pm—The Texas Horns
7:45pm—JW Jones
9:15pm—Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Over on the River stage, we get a trio of blues groups, so for anyone clamouring to put more Blues into Bluesfest, you can find yourself a spot behind the museum and camp out for the night. The Texas Horns make their return to Bluesfest, with their signature sounds warming up the crowd for the evening. Whether on the bill or supporting other acts at the festival, they’ve always been a fan favourite and will surely be yet again. And by “return,” we mean from yesterday, since they hopped on with The Linda Lindas for a song, an intergenerational collaboration.
Can you have a Bluesfest without one of Ottawa’s best bluesmen? No need to answer that question, as JW Jones will be filling that role quite admirably this year. With his last album, Everything Now, Jones expanded his electric blues with a handful of collaborations, including with the aforementioned Texas Horns, as well as the legendary Jimmie Vaughan. While hoping for Vaughan to make a surprise appearance may be wishful thinking, it’s a safe bet the Horns might stick around to hop back on stage.
Much like DK Harrell on Wednesday, another blues prodigy takes the spotlight in 26-year-old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. If you need a sampling of his electric blues in a live setting to convince you to make your way over to the River stage, any track from last year’s Live In London should do the trick in no time. He’s already three for three on albums earning the Blues Music Awards’ Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, and his recent single, last month’s “Voodoo Charm,” hints at a strong possibility of going four for four in the coming months.
LeBreton Stage
5:45pm—Rubber Tire Peep Show
7pm—Bob Log III
8:15pm—Lucius
The tent has quite an eclectic lineup, starting with Toronto’s Rubber Tire Peep Show. Their mix of country, roots, folk and rock can be backdrops to great storytelling like on “Mount Albert Fair,” or simply as an instrumental like “Broken Promises.” Their vintage organ immediately brings listeners to the 70s, and their Allman Brothers-style jams cement them there.
If Rubber Tire has a traditional feel, Bob Log III has anything but. His distinctive blues-punk approach to music can churn out some odd songs, yet they somehow quickly get you to sing along on the chorus, and stick with you long afterwards. So, consider yourself warned before diving into “Log Bomb” or “Boob Scotch.” And especially before “Do That Thing You Think You Did That Thing To,” which the title alone could have you bopping while you contemplate if that title even makes any sense grammatically.
Closing the tent this year is New York’s Lucius (not to be confused with Wednesday’s Luscious). In comparison with their set frontrunner, the band is much less experimental, but has figured out how to craft excellent indie pop, which has also gotten them chances to collaborate with dozens of major stars over the years. Hits like “Two of Us On the Run” make for a perfect soundtrack for a cottage getaway with friends, and a potential sing-along around a campfire.
Barney Danson Theatre
6:30pm—Hellhound Trail
8pm—TJ Wheeler
9:30pm—Bob Log III
Kingston’s Hellhound Trail opens the theatre with their honest, earnest blues with rock power underpinning. And with not one but two EPs released already this year, there’s plenty to delve into and discover a new fixture on the blues circuit.
Yet again, TJ Wheeler returns to Bluesfest to school fans and colleagues alike on the intricacies of the genre, while playing blues, jazz and even ragtime as part of his set.
DJMC is back on the turntables at the Crazy Horse Saloon tonight, while DJ ACRO continues his stint on the Spin Stage.
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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