Ottawa Bluesfest
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Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor
music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
that takes place each July in downtown
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, hip hop, reggae, and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
acts in recent years. Bluesfest has become the largest music festival in Canada and the second largest blues festival in North America.


Organization

Since its inception, the festival has been managed by executive and artistic director Mark Monahan. The organization also manages
CityFolk Festival CityFolk Festival (known until 2014 as the Ottawa Folk Festival) is a folk music festival held annually in Ottawa, Canada. Format The festival is held on the Lansdowne Park redevelopment, Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park each September as a 4- or ...
(2011-) and the Ontario Festival of Small Halls. In 2002, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest won the Best Event Award from the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority and in 2003 the organization received the Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) award for arts education from the Memphis Blues Foundation. Mark Monahan is a past recipient of the Toronto Blues Society's Blues with a Feeling award. In December 2011, Bluesfest reached a five-year sponsorship deal with
RBC Royal Bank Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
to ensure its financial stability. Henceforth, the event will be known as RBC Bluesfest.


History

The festival was first held in 1994 at Majors Hill Park with the performance of
Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several s ...
, attracting 5,000 spectators. The following year the festival attracted larger crowds with entertainers like
John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
and
Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...
. In 1996, 250,000 fans attended the 10-day Bluesfest to see
Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was statione ...
, Los Lobos and others. It was then that the
Mitel Mitel Networks Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications company. The company previously produced TDM PBX systems and applications, but after a change in ownership in 2001, now focuses almost entirely on Voice-over-IP (VoIP) products. Mitel ...
corporation became the first major sponsor of the event. In 1997, the festival was moved to
Confederation Park Confederation Park ''(French: Parc de la Confédération)'' is a public park and National Historic Site of Canada, located in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on t ...
to provide more space for the increasing number of fans to see musicians such as
Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...
and
Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...
. In 1998, over 800,000 people showed up for the festival in 10 days, which coincided with
Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...
.
Bell Mobility Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator, wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE (telecommunication), LTE and Evolved HSPA, HSPA+ on i ...
and CIBC Wood Gundy joined the list of sponsors. In 1999, the festival was moved to LeBreton Flats. Bluesfest became a registered charitable organization while attracting over 950,000 fans in 10 days. The
Royal Canadian Mint }) is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the Mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures ...
became a sponsor.
Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...
became the Bluesfest Title Sponsor in 2001, while the ''
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
'' and the ''
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'' became Presenting Sponsors. In 2002, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest moved to Festival Plaza in downtown Ottawa and 1,200,000 fans in 10 days. In 2003, the festival expanded to eight stages to celebrate its tenth anniversary with 1,220,000 people in attendance. 2005 saw the festival further diversify its offerings, reaching out to a younger audience as well as those interested in more than just blues. The 2006 edition saw continued growth with increased crowds and the move of the MBNA stage to Lisgar Collegiate Institute to provide more capacity. In 2007, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest relocated to LeBreton Flats Park, a move from the site at Festival Plaza the previous year. The new site offered five stages in and around the
Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...
. The stage set-up featured twin main stages akin to the
Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...
, which allowed audiences to transfer between headlining acts. The festival continues to be held in July annually for 10 days. Headliners such as B.B King and the
Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...
(2013),
Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...
and
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
(2014),
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
(2015),
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
(2016), and
Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
(2018) attracting approximately 1,500,000 attendees each year. Along with showcasing international musical talent, Bluesfest is a non-profit charitable organization with year-round music education initiatives such as Blues in the Schools, Be in the Band, and the Bluesfest School of Music and Art, augmenting a focus on developing local artists in the Ottawa region.


Accident

On July 17, 2011, just 20 minutes into
Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...
’s set, a thunderstorm blew through the festival area. The band and crew narrowly escaped the collapse of the stage's 50-ton roof. It fell away from the audience and landed on the band's truck which was parked alongside the back of the stage, breaking the fall and allowing everyone about 30 seconds to escape. Sandy Sanderson, Cheap Trick's truck driver, was treated for a laceration to the abdomen and released from hospital the same day. An investigation by the Ministry of Labour concluded the stage was poorly constructed, and though the report recommended criminal charges, none were filed due to building codes for temporary structures not covering staging that lasted less than 30 days.


Nesting Killdeer

During preparations for the 2018 festival, a pair of
killdeer The killdeer (''Charadrius vociferus'') is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Three subspecies are described. Th ...
was found nesting on some cobblestones, which help camouflage the eggs. It was right where the main stage was about to be constructed. Killdeer and their nesting grounds are protected under the
Migratory Birds Convention Act The Migratory Birds Convention Act (also MBCA) is a Canadian law established in 1917 and significantly updated in June 1994 which contains regulations to protect migratory birds, their eggs, and their nests from destruction by wood harvesting, hunti ...
. With permission from
Environment and Climate Change Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ...
, and help from the Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary, the nest was successfully moved 25 meters, one meter at a time, to a protected area behind the stage site, and stage construction was allowed to continue after a 12-hour delay. It marked a first for successful killdeer nest relocation.


Setting

The outdoor venues : * RBC Stage on the LeBreton Flats (Capacity 100,000) * SiriusXM Stage at Bayview Station (Capacity 25,000) * River Stage at
Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...
(Capacity 8,000) * Accora Village Spin Stage (Capacity 5,000) The indoor venue : * Barney Danson Theatre at Southam Hall (Capacity 2,000)


See also

*
List of festivals in Ottawa This is a list of festivals in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, such as regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festivals, folk festivals, and recurring f ...
*
List of festivals in Canada This is an incomplete list of festivals in Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, among them regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, and recurring festivals on holidays. Sublists by loca ...
*
Music of Canada The music of Canada reflects the diverse influences that have shaped the country. Indigenous Peoples, the Irish, British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has also subsequently been ...
*
List of blues festivals Blues festivals are music festivals which focus on blues music. Blues is a genreKunzler's dictionary of Jazz provides two separate entries: blues, an originally African-American genre (p.128), and the blues form, a widespread musical form (p.131 ...
*
List of folk festivals A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicr ...


References


External links


RBC Bluesfest
official website
Ottawa Festivals website
{{Authority control Music festivals established in 1994 Music festivals in Ottawa Blues festivals in Canada Annual events in Ottawa