Bluesfest

Bluesfest in Ottawa has been happening since 1994. The first act to take the stage was Clarence Clemons (saxophonist for the E Street Band). Ever since then, Bluesfest has welcomed thousands of bands and musicians, from blues to rock, soul to pop, rap to country, and everything else in between.

My first time at Bluesfest was in 2001, and I've been going almost every year since. Here's a list of who I have seen at Bluesfest so far, by year:

2001 - James Brown, Matthew Good Band
2002 - The Tragically Hip
2004 - Bryan Adams, Blue Rodeo
2007 - The Steve Miller Band
2009 - The Yardbirds, Sam Roberts, Our Lady Peace

This year, a whole mess of good bands are coming to town: Arcade Fire, The B-52s, The Flaming Lips, Foghat, Gord Downie, Great Big Sea, The Gypsy Kings, The Lost Fingers, Iron Maiden, Joan Jett, Matthew Good, The Moody Blues, Roger Hodgson, RUSH, Santana, Weezer and many, many, many more. Even Kevin Costner put a band together and is coming to Bluesfest!

It's all happening July 6-18 at Lebreton Flats. Tickets go on sale tomorrow!