A week or so out of Ottawa Bluesfest 2022 and people are still recovering from the onslaught of music and unfortunately Covid. I had to miss the final day of the festival myself which was unfortunate as I was looking forward to finishing out the first big piece of music to come back to the city in what seemed like forever. Ottawa certainly showed up in force for some music and they didn’t care about the heat or possible rain they would have to endure. This being the first one back there were a lot of wins and losses for the city to bring back this caliber of event. The Bluesfest organizers put on a hell of an event working with the probable madness I’m sure they were dealing with along with all the amazing vendors that played a part.
Festival Win
A successful return to major musical events for Ottawa. Most people probably don’t know how much goes on behind the scenes when it comes to something of this caliber so it was amazing to see them pull it off the best they can with what they had to work with. Vendors like Toersa security and ARX fencing and logistics played key roles in making this event one to remember.
Festival Loss
The lack of volunteers compared to past years seemed to be a little bit of an issue. Lineups in the past for things like beer tents have typically been not too bad but this year there were countless times we noticed insane lineups and countless comments from people about how insane they were along the way. Hopefully with a successful launch numbers will pick up a little more for future events
Musical Wins
Bluesfest brought some of the most anticipated acts to this year’s event certainly made things a big success. Luke Combs was one of the most packed nights I’ve personally ever seen. Alanis Morrisette made her hometown return after 25 years which was mind-blowing. Ja Rule made the first trip in 10 years to Canada and Ottawa. The highlight of the whole festival for most people was Rage Against the Machine returning in amazing fashion even with front man Zack having to perform sitting the whole time due to injury.
Musical Loss
Being the first big one back is always going to be impossible to please everyone but some of the nights felt lackluster to some fans. Day 10 which some would have hoped have been a wild end to the festival left some fans wanting more with a headlining act of The National. While The National are no slouches by any means it seemed to leave some wondering if they could have made some lineup changes. (Personally, I think they did the best with what was available considering everyone is busy touring)
Ottawa Bluesfest 2022 recap coming to an end and it was a blast. Up Next is City Folk with some great acts like Tim Hicks and T-Pain.
Check out the website for a complete lineup and more information on the festival.