Category Archives: Canadiana

2015 been quite a year for Country Music in Ottawa with monster shows from some of country’s biggest hit makers like Luke Bryan, Brantley Gilbert, Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney to name just a few, not to mention some world class performances by some of Canada’s top country stars like Brett Kissel, Tim Hicks and more.

On Monday night two Canadian country music gentleman, Paul Brandt and Dean Brody, brought a true country music performance as their Road Trip Tour rolled into the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

The Maritimes went country over the last few days as the best of the best of Canadian country music invaded Halifax. The party started early in the week with numerous showcase events put on by various labels and agencies to help showcase their stars and rising stars and it all was capped off with the Canadian Country Music Association Awards, the final of which was held last night at the Scotiabank Centre and aired on CBC Television.

Well, it’s just as the headline says it was.  Last night was one hell of Kickoff Party for Boots & Hearts at their new home in Oro-Medonte.

After an incredible start to this year’s Ottawa Bluesfest the second week was the week that had more of the music I was interested loaded so it was no doubt one I would be looking forward to covering.  Initial plans were that I would be finished my shifts with the Green Team by this point as well but health issues in the first week forced me to pick up some shifts in the second week.

It was a great start to the day with the first full day of Ram Rodeo action in the rodeo ring.  The stands were full and everyone had a blast.  Weather was moving in for the evening but it didn’t seem to deter the fans that were busy streaming into the venue to get a spot close to the stage.

It was the fall of 2014 we were approached by the folks at the Spencerville Stampede asking if we’d be interested in working with them on their 2015 entertainment lineup.  Going into their 4th year this year the Stampede had always had a musical component but they wanted to raise the ante and bring some higher profile entertainment to the event.

Thousand Foot Krutch, Bear Mountain, For Esmé, Hozier and Neil Young + Promise of the Real

A fantastic music filled, gorgeous Ontario day at the brand new Burl’s Creek Facility. If you were wondering if they could pull it off, they absolutely did.

It’s hard to believe that the event that I’ve been anticipating all year is already halfway through.  It feels like just yesterday that the Full Flex Express rolled into town kicking off what would be an incredible 11 days of live entertainment along the Ottawa River.  New to our coverage this year is the addition of Sean Sisk, our new resident event photographer extraordinaire in the Ottawa region.  Sean’s incredible pictures will appear throughout my reviews and allow me to focus on the music and our social media coverage instead of trying to get the perfect shot. 

RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest She’s the One

The annual RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest she’s the one competition was held yesterday afternoon and we have just learned that Stittsville’s Grace Lachance has been crowned “The One”.

148 years ago today one of the greatest nations in the world was born, Canada.  On this special day we’d like to salute our home and native land and highlight just some of the reasons that make us proud to be Canadian!