Bluesfest 2010
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/enterta...969/story.html
Indie upstarts & classic rockers: Festival nabs Rush, Drake, Keith Urban, Arcade Fire, Great Big Sea and Santana
By Lynn Saxberg , The Ottawa CitizenApril 21, 2010 2:24 PM
Canada’s indie-rock heroes Arcade Fire, legendary metal band Iron Maiden, prog-rock trio Rush and a post-Grateful Dead project featuring two members of the iconic jamband are among the headlining acts headed to Ottawa for the 16th annual edition of Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.
One of the biggest summer music festivals in the country, Bluesfest runs from July 6 to 18 on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum at LeBreton Flats. This year’s event starts on a Tuesday, a day earlier than the festival’s traditional start date, but includes a day off on July 12. The newly devised schedule divides the festival into two separate weeks.
“It sort of makes sense to take a break in the middle, to give everybody a breather and for us to recharge a bit,” said Mark Monahan, the festival’s executive and artistic director. For the first time, festival passports will be available for the first or second week, as well as the entire festival. Weekend passes will not be sold, but day tickets can be purchased.
Final prices were still being determined, but were expected to range from $40-60 for a day ticket, $150 for a single-week pass and $250 for the full event passport.
This year’s talent budget will come in at about $5 million, said Monahan, which is up about $1 million from last year. “It’s hard to top every year but
I would say if you look at the major festivals across North America, this lineup stands with the best of them,” Monahan said. The theme is Bluesfest Goes to Hollywood, a nod to the fact that actor Kevin Costner and his band, Modern West, are booked to perform July 17.
Monahan said the $5-million total includes the money spent on programming the Blues in the Byward offshoot festival, which will feature free outdoor concerts in the Byward Market over two weekends: July 9-11 and July 16-18. That lineup will be announced in mid-May.
The main event starts July 6 with a blast of hard rock from England’s pioneering metalheads, Iron Maiden, a performance that is sure to test the city’s decibel limit. July 7 brings us Furthur, the latest instalment in the long, strange trip of surviving Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, who have never before performed in Ottawa. On July 8, get set for a nostalgia fest with the veteran New Wave party band, B-52s, and classic-rock knights the Moody Blues.
Rocker Joan Jett kicks off the first weekend on July 9, followed by a jam-packed schedule that includes Supertramp singer-songwriter Roger Hodgson, Canada’s Juno-winning group of the year, Metric, and U.S. eccentrics the Flaming Lips on Saturday, and Rush headlining on Sunday, which will mark the first outdoor performance in Ottawa by the Canadian power trio. The Band drummer Levon Helm also plays July 11, along with singer-songwriter John Hiatt.
Week Two begins July 13 with a big show by Arcade Fire. Ottawa fans have been waiting for years for a headlining performance by the Montreal-based collective, which counts several musicians from Ottawa among its members.
On July 14, it’s time for another long-awaited concert, this one by Santana with Stevie Winwood. New Zealand’s Neil Finn brings a revitalized version of Crowded House on July 15, followed by Newfoundland favourites Great Big Sea and Canadian hip-hop star Drake on July 16. Country star Keith Urban and quirky alt-rockers Weezer are two of the dozens of acts booked for the final weekend. July 17 will also feature a day of gospel programming.
In all, about 230 acts are performing at Bluesfest, including about 60 from the Ottawa area. Concerts take place on five outdoor stages and in the museum’s indoor Barney Danson theatre.
Last year’s festival attracted more than 350,000 people and generated nearly $60 million in economic benefit to the region, according to statistics gathered by the festival.
INFOBOX
Bluesfest 2010
When: July 6 to July 18
Where: LeBreton Flats, on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum
Tickets: On sale Saturday at 10 a.m. through capitaltickets.ca. (Presale for
Bluesfest “insiders” begins today. See ottawabluesfest.ca)
Headliners
Week 1
July 6: Iron Maiden
July 7: Furthur with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir
July 8: B-52s and Moody Blues
July 9: Joan Jett
July 10: Roger Hodgson, Metric, Flaming Lips
July 11: Rush
Week 2
July 13: Arcade Fire
July 14: Santana and Steve Winwood
July 15: Crowded House
July 16: Great Big Sea
July 17: Keith Urban
July 18: Weezer
more performers at the
article link and at
http://www.ottawabluesfest.ca/
Looking forward to Metric and Arcade Fire!