Ottawa Bluesfest - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. While ostensibly focused on blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

, the festival has increasingly showcased mainstream pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

and rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

acts in recent years. The Bluesfest has become the largest blues festival in Canada, and the second largest in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

Since its inception, the festival has been managed by executive and artistic director Mark Monahan and a small group of full-time employees, including director of sponsorship, Nathalie Laperrière and director of communications, AJ Sauve, adding current director of operations Mike Rouleau in 2004 and director of volunteer services Tammy Parent in 2006. In 2008, Sarah PC and William Yap joined the team as programming assistant and accounting coordinator, respectively.

In 2002, the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest won the Best Event Award from the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority and in 2003 the organization received the Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) award for arts education from the Memphis Blues Foundation. Mark Monahan is a past recipient of the Toronto Blues Society’s Blues with a Feeling award.

1994

The festival was first held in 1994 at Majors Hill Park with the performance of Clarence Clemons

Clarence Clemons

Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...

, attracting 5,000 spectators.

1995

The following year, the festival attracted larger crowds with entertainers like John Hiatt

John Hiatt

John Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...

and Buddy Guy

Buddy Guy

George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...

1996

In 1996, 25,000 fans attended the Bluesfest to see Robert Cray

Robert Cray

Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...

, Los Lobos

Los Lobos

Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...

and others. It was then that the Mitel

Mitel

Mitel Networks, is a high-tech company providing unified communications solutions for business. The company previously produced TDM PBX systems and applications but after a change in ownership in 2001 now focuses almost entirely on Voice-over-IP products.Mitel is headquartered in Ottawa,...

corporation became the first major sponsor of the event.

1997

In 1997, the festival was moved to Confederation Park

Confederation Park

Confederation Park is a park in downtown Ottawa and a National Historic Site of Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on the east by the Rideau Canal; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge, the Rideau Centre and the National Arts Centre; and, to the west,...

to provide more space for the increasing number of fans to see musicians such as Dr. John

Dr. John

Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...

and Little Feat

Little Feat

Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....

1998

In 1998, over 80,000 people showed up for the festival, which coincided with Canada Day

Canada Day

Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...

and featured Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

. Bell Mobility

Bell Mobility

Bell Mobility is a CDMA and HSPA+ based wireless network and the division of Bell Canada which sells wireless services in Canada...

and CIBC Wood Gundy

CIBC Wood Gundy

CIBC Wood Gundy is the is the Canadian retail brokerage division of CIBC World Markets, a division of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.CIBC Wood Gundy maintains a network of 1,400 brokers working in over 100 branches across Canada...

joined the list of sponsors.

1999

In 1999, the festival was moved to LeBreton Flats

Lebreton Flats

LeBreton Flats is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It lies to the west of Centretown neighbourhood, and to the north of Centretown West with "Nanny Goat Hill" as the dividing line...

. Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...

, Little Richard

Little Richard

Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...

, and Booker T. & the M.G.s played on the Main Stage and the "Blues in the Schools" program was launched. The Bluesfest became a registered charitable organization while attracting over 95,000 fans with performers such as Sting, Al Green

Al Green

Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...

, Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...

, and Buddy Guy. The Royal Canadian Mint

Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...

became a sponsor.

2001

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...

became the Bluesfest Title Sponsor in 2001, while the Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...

and the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...

became Presenting Sponsors. The festival featured Dr. John, James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

, Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...

, and George Thorogood

George Thorogood

George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...

and attracted 140,000 people.

2002

In 2002, Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest moved to Festival Plaza in downtown Ottawa and 200,000 fans showed up to see the Tragically Hip, Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...

, The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...

, and Colin James

Colin James

Colin James is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who plays in the blues, rock, and neo-swing genres. He grew up as a Quaker.-Early years:...

2003

In 2003, the festival expanded to eight stages to celebrate its tenth anniversary. 220,300 people came to see the likes of Ben Harper

Ben Harper

Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...

, Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...

, Sum 41

Sum 41

Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...

, The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...

, and Dan Aykroyd

Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...

& James Belushi

James Belushi

James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...

2004

George Thorogood kicked off the 2004 festival, which included The Tragically Hip, Taj Mahal, The Mudboys, Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

, Blue Rodeo, and others.

2005

2005 saw the festival further diversify its offerings, reaching out to a younger audience as well as those interested in more than just blues. Four on-site stages featured headliners such as War

War (band)

War is an American funk band from California, known for the hit songs "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?". Formed in 1969, War was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae...

, ZZ Top

ZZ Top

ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...

, Kid Rock

Kid Rock

Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...

, Simple Plan

Simple Plan

Simple Plan is a Canadian pop punk band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier , Jeff Stinco , Sébastien Lefebvre , David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau...

, The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...

, K-os

K-os

Kevin Brereton , better known by his stage name k-os , is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer...

, Alexisonfire

Alexisonfire

Alexisonfire was a five-piece, Juno-nominated post-hardcore band that formed in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2001. The band consisted of George Pettit , Dallas Green , Wade MacNeil , Chris Steele , and Jordan Hastings .They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls...

, India.Arie

India.Arie

India.Arie is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer . She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.-Background:Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado...

, as well as performances during the day and on the side stages by The Neville Brothers

The Neville Brothers

The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art , Charles , Aaron , and Cyril The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in...

, Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd is an Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in 1978 and grew up in Torquay, Victoria. He attended St. Joseph's College, Geelong....

, The Harlem Gospel Choir, Campbell Brothers, Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...

, Neko Case

Neko Case

Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....

, and one stage dedicated to acoustic and Cuban music. The eleven-day event brought over 220,000 people to Festival Plaza to enjoy and appreciate a wide variety of music from around the world.

2006

The 2006 festival saw continued growth with increased crowds and the move of the MBNA stage to Lisgar Collegiate Institute to provide more capacity. The main stage headliners were Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...

, Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

, Michael Franti & Spearhead

Michael Franti

Michael Franti is an American poet, musician, and composer. He is the creator and lead vocalist of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock...

, Sam Roberts

Sam Roberts

Sam Roberts is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.-Life and career:...

, Blue Rodeo, Live

Live (band)

Live is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor , Patrick Dahlheimer , and Chad Gracey . Lead singer and principal songwriter Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009....

, Etta James

Etta James

Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...

, Rihanna

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

, Wilco

Wilco

Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...

and KC’s Boogie Blast.

2007

The 2007 Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest was located at LeBreton Flats Park, a move from the site at Festival Plaza the previous year. The new site offered five stages in and around the Canadian War Museum

Canadian War Museum

The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...

. The stage set-up featured twin main stages akin to the Austin City Limits Music Festival

Austin City Limits Music Festival

The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...

, which allowed audiences to transfer between headlining acts. The festival drew more than 300,000 attendees and featured acts such as Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

, Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

, George Thorogood

George Thorogood

, Steve Miller Band

Steve Miller Band

The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...

, Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...

, The White Stripes

The White Stripes

The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

, Manu Chao

Manu Chao

Manu Chao , is a French singer of Spanish roots . He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Galician, Arabic and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages...

, INXS

INXS

INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

, Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

, and Solid Gold Dance Party.

2008

The 2008 Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest was held again at LeBreton Flats Park between July 3 and 13. Some of the featured acts were James Taylor

James Taylor

James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....

, The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, is a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie , Paul Langlois , Rob Baker , Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay . Since their formation in 1983 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, and 46 singles...

, Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea

, Steely Dan

Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...

, Fergie, Feist, Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson

Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...

, The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...

, Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...

, Plain White T's

Plain White T's

Plain White T's is an American Pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes.The band is best...

, Akon

Akon

Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

, Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

, Primus

Primus (band)

Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...

, The Wailers, Three Days Grace

Three Days Grace

Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...

, Theory of a Deadman

Theory of a Deadman

Theory of a Deadman is a Canadian rock band from Delta, British Columbia, formed in 2001. The band is currently signed to Roadrunner Records as well as Island Records. The band also includes traits of other music styles, such as country and acoustic, as well as their post-grunge and alternative...

, and Donna Summer

Donna Summer

LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

2009

In 2009, the festival was held between July 8 and 19. Some of the featured acts were The Black Keys

The Black Keys

The Black Keys are an American rock duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. The band was formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. As of October 2011, the band has sold over 2 million albums in the U.S....

, Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck

Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...

, Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....

, Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...

, Sam Roberts Band

Sam Roberts

, Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...

, Matisyahu

Matisyahu

Matthew Paul Miller , better known by his Hebrew name and stage name Matisyahu, is an American Hasidic Jewish reggae and alternative rock musician....

, Stone Temple Pilots

Stone Temple Pilots

Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....

, Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd is an Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in 1978 and grew up in Torquay, Victoria. He attended St. Joseph's College, Geelong....

, Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

, Neko Case

Neko Case

Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....

, Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Headed by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band additionally consists of Jeremy Taggart on percussion, Duncan Coutts on bass, and Steve Mazur as lead guitarist...

, Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...

, Ice Cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

, King Sunny Ade & His African Beats

King Sunny Adé

King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time.-Background:...

, Cake

Cake (band)

Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi, the band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan voice, DiFiore's trumpet parts, and...

, Ludacris

Ludacris

Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...

, Drive By Truckers, Live

Live (band)

, Paolo Nutini

Paolo Nutini

Paolo Giovanni Nutini is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. His father is of Italian descent, from Barga, Tuscany, although both his parents are Scottish, his family having been in Scotland for three generations....

, Jennifer Warnes

Jennifer Warnes

Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...

, Spencer Davis

Spencer Davis

Spencer David Nelson Davis is a British musician and multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of the 1960s rock band, the Spencer Davis Group.-Early life:...

, Estelle

Estelle (musician)

Estelle Fanta Swaray commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.-Early Life:Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England...

, Femi Kuti

Femi Kuti

Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti....

, Mick Taylor

Mick Taylor

Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...

, Ani DiFranco

Ani DiFranco

Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...

, The National

The National (band)

The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...

, Kiss

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

, Styx

Styx (band)

Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....

, Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes

Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...

, DeVotchKa

DeVotchKa

DeVotchKa is a four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. They take their name from the Russian word devochka , meaning "girl"...

, Girl Talk

Girl Talk (musician)

Gregg Michael Gillis , better known by his stage name Girl Talk, is an American musician specializing in mashups and digital sampling. Gillis has released five LPs on the record label Illegal Art and EPs on 333 and 12 Apostles....

, The Dead Weather

The Dead Weather

The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville...

, Toots & the Maytals

Toots & the Maytals

Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...

, The Alan Parsons Project

The Alan Parsons Project

The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band, active between 1975 and 1990, consisting of singer Eric Woolfson and keyboardist Alan Parsons surrounded by a varying number of session musicians....

, Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....

, Iron and Wine, Los Lonely Boys

Los Lonely Boys

Los Lonely Boys is a Chicano rock power trio from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown eyed soul, country, and Tejano....

, The Zombies

The Zombies

The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...

, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Metric

Metric (band)

Metric is a Canadian indie rock and New Wave band founded in 1998 in Toronto. The band has also at various times been based in Montreal, London, New York City and Los Angeles...

, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...

, and The Yardbirds

The Yardbirds

- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...

2010

The 2010 edition included: Babe Ruth (band)

Babe Ruth (band)

Babe Ruth are a rock music group, primarily active through the 1970s, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Their characteristically 'heavy' sound is marked by powerful vocals from Janita Haan and full arrangements by Alan Shacklock...

, Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana

Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...

, Rush

Rush (band)

Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

, Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

, Alexisonfire

Alexisonfire

, Hole

Hole (band)

Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...

, Matthew Good

Matthew Good

Matthew Frederick Robert Good is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer for the Matthew Good Band, one of Canada's most successful alternative rock bands in the 1990s, before dissolving the band in 2002...

, Marianas Trench, Lights, Arcade Fire, Drake

Drake (entertainer)

Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....

, The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...

, Keith Urban

Keith Urban

Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...

, Faber Drive

Faber Drive

Faber Drive is a four-piece, Canadian pop punk band from Mission, British Columbia.-Biography:Discovered by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, and signed to his 604 Records label after winning Fox Seeds, a local radio challenge, Faber Drive released their debut album, Seven Second Surgery, on May 15, 2007...

, Weezer

Weezer

Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...

, Dream Theater

Dream Theater

Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...

, John Hiatt

John Hiatt

, Down with Webster

Down with Webster

Down with Webster, or DWW, is a 7-man Canadian rap rock band from The Beaches area of Toronto, Ontario who signed with Universal Motown in April 2009. During live shows the band occasionally uses a 3-piece horn section....

, Roger Hodgson

Roger Hodgson

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman, and founding member, of progressive rock band Supertramp....

, Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...

, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The B52's, Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...

, The Lost Fingers

The Lost Fingers

The Lost Fingers is a Canadian gypsy jazz music group based in Quebec City. Its members are Alex Morissette , Dr. Christian Roberge , and Byron "Maiden" Mikaloff ....

, Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea

, and Crowded House

Crowded House

Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...

2011

Bluesfest 2011 took place from July 5 until July 17. Bands performing included Soundgarden

Soundgarden

Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American band led by Alex Ebert, vocalist of the power pop group Ima Robot. Their first full-length recording, Up from Below, was released July 7, 2009, digitally and July 14, 2009, physically on Community Records...

, A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums...

, The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip

, The Black Keys

The Black Keys

, Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...

, Ben Harper

Ben Harper

, Steve Miller Band

Steve Miller Band

, The Roots

The Roots

The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...

, Cage the Elephant

Cage the Elephant

Cage the Elephant is an American rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky, that formed in mid-2006. Since their formation, the band has gained a large following in the US as well as the UK and Canada for their sound and their high-energy live performances. The band released their self-titled debut...

, Three Days Grace

Three Days Grace

, My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket is an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky.The band consists of Jim James , Tom 'Two-Tone Tommy' Blankenship , Patrick Hallahan , Carl Broemel , and Bo Koster .-History:My Morning Jacket was...

, Rise Against

Rise Against

Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...

, Billy Talent

Billy Talent

Billy Talent is a Canadian post-hardcore band from Streetsville, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with Ben Kowalewicz as the lead vocalist, Ian D'Sa on lead guitar, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk ....

, Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo

Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...

, Mother Mother

Mother Mother

Mother Mother is a five-piece Canadian indie rock band originally from Quadra Island, now based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mother Mother consists of Ryan Guldemond on guitar and vocals, Molly Guldemond on vocals and keyboard, Jasmin Parkin on keyboard and vocals, Ali Siadat on drums, and...

, Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...

and Death From Above 1979

Death from Above 1979

Death from Above 1979 are a Toronto-based Canadian dance-punk/noise rock duo. Their album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, was released in late 2004. The band broke up in 2006, but announced a reunion in 2011.-History:...

. Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....

and Joe Satriani

Joe Satriani

Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...

were cancelled after a storm blew in and collapsed the main stage.

On July 17, just 20 minutes into Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...

’s set, a violent thunderstorm blew through the festival area. A downburst

Downburst

A downburst is created by an area of significantly rain-cooled air that, after reaching ground level, spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. Unlike winds in a tornado, winds in a downburst are directed outwards from the point where it hits land or water...

from an intense derecho

Derecho

A derecho is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo...

that evening caused the stage upon which Cheap Trick had been playing to collapse. The band had interrupted their set and left the stage just before the downburst hit. No one from the band was injured.

External links

Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest official website
Ottawa Festivals website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

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External links