The Easter Long Weekend surely means times off from work for many of you, which also means more leisure time to enjoy the city’s cultural scene. Whether you’re looking for music shows, dance parties, an art sale or a record swap, check out Eventful Capital’s weekly picks below for a selection of noteworthy events happening around Ottawa-Gatineau in the days ahead.
This Monday, April 14, Montreal-based artist Patrick Lac will be performing live at the Brasseurs du Temps located in the Hull sector of Gatineau. The folk-rock singer-songwriter, who’s originally from the Outaouais region, will be giving a show alongside Japanese multi-instrumentalist Kento Kataoka. 
New York power-pop punk group Broadcaster will be in Ottawa this Monday night. The trio will be performing live at Luneta Bistro with local opening acts The Mnemonics and Benevenstanciano, both of Ottawa. 
This Wednesday, April 16, indie rock band Ladyhawk will be giving a live performance at Cafe Dekcuf above Mavericks. The Vancouver-based group, who’ll be in Ottawa as part of its Decade of Passive Aggression Tour, will be joined on stage by Welland indie project Marine Dreams and Ottawa indie band Saint Clare. 
Garage sale season is upon us. Local artist Deirdre Sokolowska is putting on an Art Garage Sale at Avant Garde Bar this Thursday, April 17. If you’re looking for art pieces and other random decorative items at affordable prices, this is definitely worth checking out. A few local art lovers and artists alike will be on hand selling the goods from 7 to 10pm. 
The folks at Ottawa Showbox present a night of local punk music this Thursday night. Happening at Babylon, the show will feature live sets by Ottawa powerpop/punk formation Steve Adamyk Band, punk group Finderskeepers, Robots! Everywhere!! and DJ Male Nurse. For the occasion, local visual artist Kaylie Seaver will be painting live art and selling her pieces throughout the night. Oh, and there will be shitty projections. 
The Ottawa Fringe Festival is putting on a fundraiser this Thursday, April 17 at the Arts Court Theatre & Studio. Dubbed Stiff Quickies: Short Films, Tall Drinks, Deep Pockets, the event will feature a screening with works by several artists and represents a great occasion to support the local cultural scene. 
The Benefit of the Free Man is about to kick off an East Coast tour of Canada this week and they’ll be stopping in Ottawa this Thursday, April 17. For the occasion, the Toronto-based chamber folk project will be performing live at Pressed Cafe with Ottawa-based duo Vedal Pearl and musician Caitlin Dolan. 
CKCU FM’s Debaser presents Toronto four-piece Weaves at Mugshots this Thursday night. The indie pop rock band will be giving a live set with Ottawa poly-pop project Boyhood and Toronto experimental musician Petra Glynt. The hand-drawn poster alone is convincing enough to attend, real talk. 
Also happening this Thursday night, the Mercury Lounge presents Easter Long Weekend Edition: The Bunny Bounce, a night dedicated to 1970s afro latin disco funk. If you’re looking for a 70s dance party to start the long weekend right, this should be right up your alley, that and the Double Barrel Easter Special also happening that night in the same building, see below. 
For one night only, the Double Barrel party is headed back to its roots at Overkill where everything started. This Thursday night for old time’s sake, join the original duo DJs Ska-Tee and Magnificent and current Overkill Thursday resident DJ “Ray-Ray” Rayaz playing all the funk, soul, Motown and vintage reggae classics that you’ve been enjoying since 2009. 
Needless to say there’s lots happening this Thursday night. If you’re into trap music, then be sure to head over to Ritual for Traplord Forgives, a night dedicated to trap in all its glory with selections courtesy of DJs Foster, Danya D, and Frank Play. Also, please take note of the dress code, this is Easter long weekend ladies and gentlemen. 
Local rawbeat rock duo StillNative are putting on a show at the Rainbow Bistro this Friday, April 18 for their IndieGoGo Campaign to help raise funds to “manufacture, promote and distribute their second LP”. For the occasion, StillNative will be performing a Black Keys Tribute Set along with some original material and they’ll be joined by opening act Rishi Von Rex. 
Over in Wakefield this Friday, April 18, the Wicked Mercy will be live in concert at the Blacksheep Inn. The Ottawa-based rock blues 5-piece will be playing along with special guests The Lionyls and Bella Cat Blues.
This Friday night, Raw Sugar Cafe is hosting a Record Swap to give you the opportunity to trade your vinyl treasures for other vinyl treasures (barter exchange only). Following the swap, “Vinyl Record” DJs will be playing on rotation for your listening and dancing pleasure. 
The house fans will want to hit up Mercury Lounge this Friday night to take in the live set by Canadian house legend Jason Hodges. Presented by Pozativ Recordings and the Mercury Lounge, the Ottawa-born internationally renowned DJ and Producer will be dropping some serious jacking house beats on the dance floor alongside resident DJs Balu, Lance Baptiste and Ray Ray. 
Timekode is back at its new home this Friday night, April 18. Now happening at the newly renovated Cafe Nostalgica, the night of soul moving soles will feature music selections by usual suspects DJs Zattar, Memetic and Eric Roberts. 
The FOE organizers, l’Avant-première centre and the Table Jeunesse de l’Outaouais are brewing up a special show to be held this Friday night over in Hull. The talented local rapper/slam poet D-Track will be performing live alongside Montreal post-rap 5-piece Dead Obies while the Fau Mardi collective takes care of visual projections. With a limited capacity of 100 people, this is sure to be an intimate and interactive event. 
The original insultans of soul, Peter Elkas & The Elkas Band will be performing live at Mavericks this Saturday, April 19 as part of the Party of One 10th Anniversary Tour. The Toronto/Montreal 4-piece ensemble will be giving a live show alongside special guest Jailmate. 
Straight Goods Music, Lifted, Bydek Group, and DNA have teamed up to bring you a Mad Decent edition of Lifted with special guests Djemba Djemba of Los Angeles and Mr. Carmack of Honolulu, Hawaii. These two rising producers who are behind some of today’s biggest artists/tracks will be giving live sets at Ritual this Saturday night. If you’re into new sounds, then you basically don’t want to miss this. 
This Sunday night, the official BET HOT 97 Celebrity Status Part 3 is going down at Ritual. Featuring NYC DJ Relly Rell from BET’s 104 & Park, Dancehall DJ Blaxz Dun De Place from Toronto, Boy6blue from Montreal along with Ottawa’s own DJs Mes, Tytus and Rocsteady, the event will be hosted by Iamohsogood and will include two floors of music to keep you dancing all night. 
