September 21st, 2017 | by Braeden Halverson | published in Concerts
Walking into St. Alban’s Church for the first time, my first thought was that it was much smaller than I had anticipated. As the beauty of Ottawa’s oldest church started to settle in, the second thing I noticed was the music that was playing through a pair of speakers towards the front of the stage: […]
September 20th, 2017 | by Braeden Halverson | published in Concerts
“The only bearded weirdo that matters” Josh Tillman, AKA Father John Misty, joked to a fan asking for a hug at Saturday’s CityFolk Festival. It was one of few things he said to the audience that night; for an hour and fifteen minutes, Tillman and his band offered a variety of piano rock and ballads […]
September 20th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts
Jack Johnson‘s show at CityFolk was a laid back affair, something anyone familiar with his music would have expected. Despite the setting of the great lawn at Lansdowne, the outdoor show still had a a fairly intimate feel to it with the way the food and drink vendors surrounded the perimeter of the lawn. For […]
August 7th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts
I headed out to Avant-Garde to get my first taste of Project Mantra. Other than having met frontman Leigh Bursey a couple of times and recently interviewing him ahead of of the show, I was largely unfamiliar with the band and their music. Unfortunately I missed the openers as I arrived just as the band […]
July 17th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts
I was excited to catch Muse for the first time. I’ve been following the band for a few years now. They brought the big rock show production one would expect with a cool stage setup, with moving parts and a cool lighting setup. As they show was drawing to an end, I started to fear […]
July 17th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts, Features
Ottawa Bluesfest featured great performances from start to finish on Day 8. My first stop was the Barney Danson Theatre to check out Ottawa’s Old Man Grant. Despite the early start, there was a good sized audience in the theatre. The trio played a fun set and weren’t shy about encouraging a little audience participation […]
July 12th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts
Pink was the big draw and day 4 at Ottawa Bluesfest and that saw the biggest crowd of the festival so far. Despite some rain, and her show was a full on spectacle. Since she’s had plenty of mainstream coverage, I’ll focus on some some of my highlights from the night. The first act I […]
July 10th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts, Features
I headed out early on this Saturday afternoon to take in what I could of the locals starting off the day. My oldest son was also in tow, coming to see what Bluesfest was like for the first time. I figured this would be the best opportunity with the smaller crowds that are present at […]
July 9th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts
The first main act on day 1 that I had to catch was the Sam Roberts Band. I’ve been a fan since he burst on to the Canadian music scene with his break out hit Brother Down 15 years ago. It was great to hear some of the new tunes off of Terra Form live […]
July 8th, 2017 | by Scott Martin | published in Concerts, Features
It never ceases to amaze me how much local musical talent we have in this city. Heading to Ottawa Bluesfest early is one great way to discover them. The first band I caught this year was Tribe Royal. I had first seen them at Barrymore’s a month or so ago and was excited to catch […]