Ottawa Bluesfest Unveils the 2012 Festival Lineup

After much anticipation and speculation, the Ottawa Bluesfest unveiled its 2012 festival lineup last night during a fundraising gala taking place at the Canadian War Museum.

This year’s programming definitely offers something for everyone. Many people will say that there isn’t enough blues and that it shouldn’t be this way, but haters are gonna hate. There’s some blues alright, but there’s not much. I do agree that the Bluesfest organizing committee should consider changing the festival’s name to something more encompassing, that being said, the line-up announced yesterday is nothing short of exciting for music lovers.

The organizers are definitely targeting younger audiences this season with the new Electro Stage, which is set to welcome many local talents like Aboriginal DJ-Collective A Tribe Called Red, DJ Illo, DJ Kid SL and DJ Drastik alongside internationally-renowned artists such as MSTRKRFT, Chromeo, and A-Trak. Also included in the electro category are Tiesto and dubstep DJ Skrillex who comes to Bluesfest for the second year in a row, apparently pleasantly surprised by his first performance in the National Capital.

On the hip-hop/r&b side of things, Bluesfest hits hards with headliner Snoop Dogg, also returning for a second time, with Ms. Lauryn Hill, with Canada’s own K’Naan, with beloved newcomer A$AP Rocky and with Tyga.

Other great bookings include Seal, Alice Cooper, Norah Jones, City & Colour, Metric, Sam Roberts Band, Our Lady Peace, 2012 JUNO-favorites The Sheepdogs, and Beirut.

You will probably have guessed that my personal favorite remains The Weeknd, I just can’t help it.

Rest assured though as this is just the beginning with more acts being announced in the coming weeks! Until then, you can view the full schedule on the festival website here. Stay tuned 🙂

This is going to be such a great Bluesfest summer! Are we in July yet?

February in Ottawa-Gatineau: Winterlude, Misteur Valaire @ Bal en Blanc, La Coka Nostra + Swollen Members, Coeur de Pirate and More…

February is now just around the corner and this calls for a new post to announce upcoming events and activities in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. The coming month will be nothing short of exciting for the region since a wide array of events are scheduled to take place in and around town.

February in the National Capital Region is known first and foremost for Winterlude, a 3-week festival that prides itself in celebrating winter in all its glory. For a third year in a row, the National Capital Commission (NCC) has partnered with the Canadian Museum of Civilization to kick off Winterlude with the official opening ceremony taking place this Friday, February 3. For the occasion, the Museum will exceptionally be open until 11pm and will offer free admission starting at 5pm. Programmed events for the evening include drummers, crowd-amusers, storytelling around cozy firepits, IMAX presentations ($), a sublime fireworks show and an outdoor DJ dance party with Kytami and The PhonoGraFF! For more info visit the NCC website  for all-things Winterlude.

Another event happening on February 3 is FRENZY’s 2nd Birthday, with very special Mad Decent/LuckyMe guest Lunice, “a natural born entertainer who has the drive, sound, and dexterity to make us move. Lunice managed to craft his own recipe which makes dance floors bump and bass bins thump.” In other words, if you want to get down do yourself a favour and head to Babylon this Friday.

Also presented during Winterlude by the City of Gatineau is the Bal en Blanc with Misteur Valaire again taking place at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in the Grand Hall on Friday, February 11. This Electrojazz evening, inspired by its Montreal counterpart which encourages attendees to dress in white, will open with Beat Market followed by Misteur Valaire — five young musicians who’ve been making music together for ever, into something that has become a total mix of electro, hip-hop, jazz and rock! “With their unbelievable energy, they transform a straight-up concert into a crazy high-spirited adventure”. This event, a a first of its kind for the Outaouais, promises to be a memorable dance party and is sure to be well-attended by lovers of electro, jazz and hip-hop music alike.

 

Another show presented by the City of Gatineau happening at the Canadian Museum of Civilization is Coeur de Pirate with Leif Vollebeck as the opening act. The young lady will be performing songs from her latest album Blonde on February 4, 2012. The show has been sold out for a while now and unless you already have tickets you’ll be lucky if you find some on Kijiji.

The first edition of the Ottawa Winter Jazz Fest  is another Winterlude-related event taking place from February 2 to February 4 at venues throughout the downtown area. Be sure to check it out if you enjoy the summer Jazz Fest and if you like Jazz music and want to attend a show or two.

Ritual is at it again on Wednesday, February 8 as the club brings hip-hop group La Coka Nostra and Canadian formation Swollen Members to Ottawa. Here are the details below…

This is just a sample of what is going on around Ottawa-Gatineau this month! More events to come next week! Enjoy the start of a fun-filled February and feel free to share any event you’ll be attending and find worth mentionning 🙂