A Bad Moon Rose over Ottawa on the Final Day Cityfolk

The event many this festival season had been waiting for – John Fogerty sang to the faithful gathered on the great lawn in the Nation’s capital.

Every time Cityfolk puts on a festival, there are one or two bands that I’ve barely heard of before who immediately end up on my playlist. This year was no exception. Shovels & Rope got things started on this last night of the 2022 edition of the event. They are an American folk duo from Charleston, South Carolina composed of husband and wife Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst. Shovels & Rope blends traditional folk, rock and roll and country rock, and oh yes, their sense of style is on point as well. The multi instrumentalists took turns play percussion and guitar to their foot stompin’ tunes.  Cary Ann performs lead and backing vocals, guitar, drums, keyboard, and percussion and her better half Michael does all of that as well plus a little harmonica. The sound they produce together is  Americana at it’s best.

Next up was Burlington native Sarah Harmer. Over the years she’s worked with Canadian legends such as the Tragically Hip, Great Big Sea, Blue Rodeo, and the Skydiggers just to name a few. In fact in 2018 she performed at the Juno Awards in a tribute to the late Gord Downie, performing a medley of “Introduce Yerself” and “Bobcaygeon” in collaboration with Dallas Green and Kevin Hearn. Although the tempo and temperature was lowered quite a bit during her set, her powerful yet relaxed and gracefully sweet voice delivered some fantastic folk rock leading up to the main event of the night.

The crowd swelled to the largest we’ve seen so far at Cityfolk, well, maybe with the exception of that country music up and comer Zach Bryan. Those gathered for this show had a few more grey hairs and swapped short shorts and cowboy boots for comfortable Birkenstocks or Blundstones. They were here to party though, with or sans lawn chairs. John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter. The group had nine top-10 singles and eight gold albums between 1968 and 1972, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Since CCR parted ways in 1972, Fogerty has had a successful solo career, which continues. He was listed on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Songwriters (at No. 40) and the list of 100 Greatest Singers (at No. 72). He is one of a handful of living legends, and at age 77 can still pack a punch! Wearing his customary blue flannel, he serenaded his fans with some of his best known songs including Born on the Bayou, Who’ll Stop the Rain, and of course Centrefield.

That’s a wrap for the 2022 edition of Cityfolk. Thanks to the organizers for having us out to cover it! See you next year!

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