Dave Matthews Band brings change of pace to RBC Bluesfest

5 days complete, 5 days to go. As we enter the midway point of the 2018 edition of RBC Bluesfest we’ve seen record temperatures and record crowds descend on Lebreton Flats and things don’t show any signs of cooling anytime soon!

Day 5 featured the highly anticipated, and much requested, Dave Matthews Band. With a career spanning 25 years, Dave Matthews Band is one of the most influential bands in rock history. The group has released eight studio albums and numerous live recordings, selling a collective 38 million CDs and DVDs combined since 1994!

The night started off with Ottawa’s own Andrew Waines at the Claridge Homes Stage. Waines is a 20 year old singer-songwriter who is best known for playing rhythm guitarist in Jordan McIntosh’s band where he performed on stages at Ottawa Bluesfest, Boots & Hearts Country Music Festival, Cavendish PEI Beach Festival and more. Andrew is starting to break away from the shadows of other artists for the official launch of his own music career and last night’s performance at RBC Bluesfest is a good place to start. After a few well-known cover songs to get the crowd pumping, he serenaded the girls at the front of the crowd, making us wonder if he is the next Scott Helman.

Matt Lorenz [The Suitcase Junket] was raised in Cavendish, Vermont, the son of schoolteachers. He learned to sing by copying his sister Kate; the siblings are two-thirds of the touring trio Rusty Belle. Lorenz graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 2004, having taught himself to throat-sing, inspired by a South Indian cooking class. On moving day, he pulled a guitar, filled with mold and worse for wear, from a dorm dumpster. He fixed it up and started pulling songs out of it. That was the beginning. We were first introduced to Matt last September at CityFolk and it was a no brainer to add him to our list of shows to catch at this summer’s RBC Bluesfest.

Following The Suitcase Junket we took a trip along the river to the Claridge Homes Stage where London, England based Oh Wonder had packed the tent in Bluesville to the point where it was spilling out on both sides. Coming to Ottawa 24 hours after the duo performed to a sold out NYC Summerstage in the middle of Central Park their performance had all the makings of being the highlight of the festival and overshadowing Dave Matthews Band. Although expressing grief over the loss of the British soccer team to Croatia earlier in the day, they certainly brought their brand of happy to Ottawa last night. Their electro-pop harmonies and energetic performance kicked the otherwise subdued night into gear.

That brought us to the City Stage where a solid, but relatively small crowd had gathered for Dave Matthews and his band. Much like Tuesday night’s headliner the Foos, DMB has been one of the most requested artists for RBC Bluesfest over the last decade or so. When the festival announced Matthews as the first official name for the 2018 lineup his local fan base lit up, there were pre-show gatherings planned and groups coming together from all around Eastern Ontario and the Northern USA to take in this performance which is part of his tour in support of the new album Come Tomorrow which was released in June listen here on Apple Music

Opening with fan-favorite “So Much To Say”, DMB’s incredible songwriting skills and the front man’s growly vocals were on full display. The crowd roared their approval when Matthews pondered a move to Canada where “I’ve often wondered about moving up to this civilized and beautiful country in the North”. Judging by the reaction he got, he may soon be wearing a toque and complaining about the cold too.

Bluesfest continues tonight with headliners Blue Rodeo. Also be sure to catch Noname and Bob Log III who may just surprise you with their performances. We’ll be there!

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