With an outstanding performance by The Roots to close out the opening weekend, The Ottawa Jazz Festival kicked off its 45th year, giving festival goers a lineup of world-class music to kick off the summer festival season. The festival set the tone this weekend for why it is one of the most anticipated festivals in the city.
Friday evening started with the Carl Mayotte Quintet, a Quebecois jazz fusion group that brought international influences from places such as Turkey and Brazil, setting expectations for the weekend. Carl’s masterful bass skills highlighted the quintet’s exceptional musical talent that kept the audience hooked from the first notes of their set, which provided rhythmically rich originals, such as their homage to Mario Kart in the song “Grand Prix.”
Pony Girl at Ottawa Jazzfest, June 2025. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
With the sun setting, Allison Russell, the headliner for Friday, introduced a theme of oneness and community, engaging festival goers with an ethereal energy as the sun set, providing a perfect backdrop to the performance. The Montreal native’s music touches on many of the social issues faced in today’s society, and highlighted the beauty of our many communities, including individually addressing the queer, Black, transgender, Muslim, and Jewish communities as during her rendition of “Snakelife,” a song to celebrate diversity on “the only living planet in the universe that we know of.” After slowing the pace down and switching to just the guitar, banjo, and simplified percussion to perform songs such as the crowd requested “Persephone,” Russell finished her set with three upbeat songs, leaving the crowd with a sense of completeness for an amazing start to the Jazzfest’s first weekend.
Saturday brought a more traditional set of jazz artists starting with Deborah Davis and Segue to Jazz, bringing American big band style jazz that incorporated spoken word, storytelling and their version of classic songs such as “Amazing Grace” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing)” as well as live tap that showcased Darin Kyle, a Canadian international tap dance champion, reminding us where the music so many of us cherished started from.
Kombilesa Mi at Ottawa Jazzfest, June 2025. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
The headliner, Mavis Staples, filled the festival’s stage, showing why she is considered one of “America’s defining voices in freedom and peace.” With a captivating stage presence and uplifting energy, her powerful vocals celebrated the joy of life and community through a mixture of gospel, soul, and blues, highlighting her storied career, showing why she is considered the musical voice of the civil rights movement.
Mavis Staples at Ottawa Jazzfest, June 2025. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
Sunday saw the largest crowd yet, with hip hop icons The Roots taking to the stage in what was, without a doubt, the standout performance of the weekend and will set the bar at the festival for years to come.
The Roots at Ottawa Jazzfest, June 2025. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
Black Thought, the front man, kept the energy levels high, engaging with the audience throughout the performance, putting the master in master of ceremonies, with inspiring lyricism leading to cheers from the crowd with every beat drop. At the same time, each member highlighted their exceptional talent with impromptu solos throughout the 120-minute set. Their stage presence brought an aura to the festival that was a masterclass in live performance and showed why Rolling Stone named The Roots as one of the “50 greatest live acts.” Those wanting more were not left disappointed either. Following the performance, Questlove, drummer and joint frontman, took to the OLG stage in front of City Hall to give a full DJ set, allowing festival goers a chance to dance the night away.
The Roots at Ottawa Jazzfest, June 2025. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
After an opening weekend of standout performances, the Ottawa Jazz Festival is an uplifting, high-energy event that brings the city together through music, culture, and creativity. If you haven’t had a chance to attend, there’s still a week jam-packed with amazing talent to experience during one of Ottawa’s more preeminent summer festivals.
Snacktime at Ottawa Jazzfest, June 2025. Photo by Landon Entwistle.
Read our full synopsis of what not to miss at this year’s festival and get a Made in Canada playlist put together by festival organizers!
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