Iggy Pop Kicks Off Ottawa’s CityFolk Music Festival

 

 

Ottawa’s annual music festival CityFolk kicked off tonight, Wednesday, September 13th, 2023 at Lansdowne Park in the Glebe with Iggy Pop headlining, and it was a night to remember for everyone in attendance. This year’s festival is the second year post-COVID, and the anticipation and excitement of the crowd shone through strongly.

The line-up at CityFolk this year is sure not to disappoint as it has something for everyone. The entertainment began at 7:30 pm on the TD Main Stage with an up-and-coming band whose roots are strung in Montreal, Quebec. Busty and the Bass took the stage, bringing immediate energy to the audience with their vibe. They are an electro-soul and hip-hop band, but their vast variety of genres makes them remarkable and memorable. The band consists of eight members, Scott Bevins, Alistair Blu, Eric Haynes, Milo Johnson, Louis Stein, Julian Trivers, and Chris Vincent, and includes an incredible combination of instruments such as a trumpet, a trombone, electric guitars, a bass guitar, synths, a piano, drums, and two vocalists. Their heart and soul struck through every word they sang and they captivated the audience with their beautiful harmonies. They performed three songs from their July 26th, 2023 release; “All the Things I Couldn’t Say to You”, alongside “Far from Here”, and “Wandering Lies”, which are all available to stream on all streaming platforms.

Halfway through their energetic and interactive set, the band stripped it down to just the piano and the beautiful Mel Pacifico performed their song “Summer”, which was released in 2020 on their album titled “Eddie”. They then brought the energy back up, and ironically enough, had the crowd letting loose and slipping their dancing shoes on while the band sang their title track “Dance with Me”. One incredible thing noticeable about this band was that they allowed every one of their band members to have their moment to shine in the spotlight and get the recognition they deserved. Busty and the Bass put on a truly remarkable show as they were showered with cheering and whistling as they exited the stage.

Up next on the Courtside Stage was another band with tight roots in Montreal, Quebec. NOBRO, who took to the stage at 8:00 p.m., has been established since 2014 and finds their sense of identity in the genre classified as Garage-Punk. NOBRO consists of four members and has gone through quite a few band member changes to get to where they are today. They hyped the crowd up by interacting with the audience and speaking to them any chance they got and shared the back stories behind their songs to allow for a deeper connection to be made. The band consists of Kathryn McCaughey, Karolane Carbonneau, Sarah Dion, and Lisandre Bourdages who were sure to leave the crowd in awe of their performance. They also performed their new single which releases this Friday, called “Where My Girls At”, which will be available on all streaming platforms. Their most recent release, called “Let’s Do Drugs”, was a large hit with the audience and had them jumping around and singing along to every word they sang. They brought a beautiful atmosphere to CityFolk this year and a band that definitely should be on your radar for the years to come.

While NOBRO was performing, some ventured over from the TD Main Stage after Busty and the Bass, but most awaited in anticipation for the show-stopping, and long-awaited return of Iggy Pop to Canada’s capital. As each minute passed, the crowd began to fill up and the stage became more and more crowded. Those who weren’t near the stage extended almost back to the lawn seating area and everyone’s excitement and impatientness could be sensed from a mile away. As the clock ticked by, eventually, 9:00 p.m. rolled on and suspenseful music began playing from the speakers. A five-minute instrumental began playing, becoming more and more suspenseful and intense as the minutes went by. It included pictures of Iggy Pop and his band throughout the years, and eventually, his band was seen taking the stage. The crowd roared in happiness and excitement as Iggy Pop was seen running out with full energy to the front of the stage.

If you know Iggy Pop and haven’t been living under a rock, you’d know he’s also famous for removing his shirt upon performing- which is exactly what he did. He ran out onto the stage, ripping off his black leather vest making the crowd go wild. He pulled out his stellar moves immediately, which got the crowd dancing and singing along with him immediately. As the crowd was engaging with him, he began to sing his song “Modern Day Ripoff” from his new album that came out this year in January, and the majority of the crowd knew the words and sang with him. Much like Busty and the Bass, Iggy Pop also had an interesting and unique range of instruments. There was a bass guitar, an electric guitar, trumpets, drums, and of course, Iggy Pop himself on vocals. The coolest part of the entire night was that not only did he focus on his recent releases, but he reached all the way back to his release in 1977. He performed “The Passenger”, which was originally released in 1977. He also performed hits from his 2005 compilation album which included Iggy Pop and The Stooges- his previous band.

Iggy’s band did an absolutely incredible job of captivating the crowd with their impeccable rhythm and the guitarists picking abilities. His song selection was stellar and he was a major crowd-pleaser, entertaining the audience especially when he quoted Canadian terminology such as saying “eh”, and making comments about “poutine”. Iggy Pop was truly an incredible way to wrap up day one at CityFolk, and a great headlining act to lead the festival off on the right foot.

The festival runs until Sunday, September 17th, 2023, and includes headliners such as Arkells, Bush, Kaleo, X Ambassadors, and Hozier, on the TD Main Stage, and has an incredible selection of diverse food vendors, silent auctions, a 50/50 raffle, a merchandise table, and many more options to quench your hunger or thirst while you soak in the beautiful weather, our beautiful capital, and breathtaking live music. For full lineup and ticket details visit www.cityfolkfestival.com