Country music takes over Ottawa Bluesfest, again, on Thursday

After a few years with only one or two country acts in the lineup country music has been featured very prominently for the 30th Anniversary year. Thursday night shifted the focus to indie Canadian country on the back stages while rock was alive and well on the main stage.

The night started out with the incredibly talented Jessica Pearson and The East Wind on the SXM stage. This Ottawa trio has gained international attention over the past few years and if you’ve ever seen them perform live you’ll know why. Wednesday was no different as Jessica and company blended their voices with beautiful harmonies for the duration of their hour long set.

At 6:30 the focus shifted to the River Stage where Montreal’s own Merle Marlow Band made their Ontario debut. It was nice to see some friends take to the stage for a change. I’ve know the guys from Merle Marlow for about 5 years now and it was great to see them make their Ottawa debut at Ottawa Bluesfest. They’ll be yet another act performing next month at Festival Country Lotbiniere in Quebec. Their set was a mix of covers and originals, just enough to draw country fans down to the stage to lend them an ear. While it wasn’t a massive crowd it’s a great place to build on for the future for this group. I expect Ontario, or even Canada, hasn’t seen the last of these boys.

Next up on the River Stage was Alexa Goldie who is also a top 8 finalist in the 2024 SiriusXM Top of the Country competition. Hailing from Kingston, Ontario it was clear that Alexa had a strong local fan base and they all came out in numbers to support her Ottawa Bluesfest debut. I was standing just a few feet away from her proud parents and brother who she even dedicated a song to during her set. Alexa is definitely on the move right now making her one to watch. We’re definitely rooting for her from Eastern Ontario, it’ll be nice to see some fresh star power emerge from East of Toronto in Ontario. Far too long have artists out here had to struggle to get noticed due to a stigma that country music can’t thrive in our neck of the woods! Go get ’em Alexa!

The country music continued over on the SXM Stage as Corb Lund performed to a packed tent. I got there just in time for his 2014 hit “Truck Got Stuck” which had the crowd singing along to every word. It was so busy, in fact, that our photographer couldn’t even get close enough to the stage to get a photo. Just do yourself a favour…if you see Corb Lund playing near you…go and check the show out for yourself!

Between Corb and Josh Ross Silverstein was putting on a punk rock show on the RBC Stage in the main bowl. The crowd was already growing in anticipation of The Offspring who would be taking to the stage in just a few hours. But one thing was certain these veteran punk rockers knew what they were doing and the crowd loved every second of the show. Larger venue than we’re used to for these guys as we’ve covered them at Ottawa’s Brass Monkey and Club Soda in Montreal in recent years so seeing them on the big stage at Ottawa Bluesfest was a totally different experience and they owned every second of it!

Josh Ross kept the country music rolling as he headlined the River Stage leaving little to doubt as to why he was named one of Spotify’s Hot Country Artists to watch in 2023. Ottawa may not be the first city that comes to mind when it comes to country music but they came out in strong numbers for Ross who was up against rock royalty The Offspring who headlined the main stage that same night. Ross is about to embark on his first headlining US tour which starts later this month in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. But not before he returns to Canada for a number shows including YQM Country Fest in New Brunswick and LASSO Montreal. Ross is definitely a Canadian country music success story who continues to make his mark on the country scene. It’ll be fun to watch where his career will take him next.

We closed out the night with an old favourite, The Offspring. I don’t know if it’s possible to not have a good time at an Offspring show and I have no doubt that the crowd, who the band estimated was about 1 million 365 thousand and 2 strong, loved every second of their high octane set. Although a last minute addition to the lineup after Neil Young had to cancel last minute these rockers were primed and ready to go and delivered a set that was out of this world. I know I write a lot about country music these days but rock was my first love and bands like The Offspring have and continue to hold a firm positioning on my playlists. It was a great way to wrap up a Thursday night in Ottawa.

The show continues on July 12 our highlights for that day include Brittany Kennell, the first even Canadian to take part in The Voice at which she was part of Team Blake, TALK and Tyler Childers. Hard to believe we’re down to three days left already!

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