It felt surreal to walk through the gates of RBC Bluesfest for the 9th and final time this year and to be met with a near-empty festival. The mood was very mellow as small groups of people wandered around, perhaps hungover from the party the night before. But the sun was out once again to give us a great evening for the grand finale. It’s amazing that we made it through nine days with nearly perfect weather and no big delays, interruptions, or major injuries.
The 50/50 raffle hit a record $250,000 by the end of the night, with the lucky winner taking home half the total and the other half going to the Blues In The Schools and Be In The Band charitable programs. They added a second prize of a Fender electric guitar signed by various artists from this year (including Weezer, Ludacris, Shania Twain, Death Cab For Cutie, and more). Congrats to the winners!
Paragon Cause, an Ottawa-based band, kicked things off on the main RBC stage with electronic pop punk vibes, but with a dark twist. The duo’s third and most recent album Autopilot won two 2022 ECMA awards: Rising Star Award and Electronic Album of the Year. Singer Michelle Opthof wowed me with her dynamic and gritty vocals.
Over on the SiriusXM stage, Bluesfest was showcasing the musical talents of the students that benefit from the Blues In The Schools and Be In The Band programs. First up, a younger group from participating elementary schools from Blues In The Schools. The kids took the stage with their instructor and some backup help from a few adults to showcase what they’ve learned and how far they’ve come. It was an adorable sight to watch their eyes light up on stage as they delivered a few blues songs to an encouraging crowd. The kids got to choose their final song (without instructor input), and I really shouldn’t have been surprised with what they chose. As a dozen kids sang Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley, the crowd went wild.
Next up was the Be In The Band Showcase with kids from ages 11 to 17. This program matches young musicians with local professional musicians as mentors to help give youth a leg up. A dozen or so teenagers took the stage at different times with their instructor to perform a variety of hits, starting with The Eagles. The majority of students played guitar and a few alternated taking on the lead vocals.
Alvvays, a Canadian indie pop band, took the stage after Paragon Cause and the crowd was still very mellow and sparse. I think everyone needed some rest on the final day of Bluesfest, and their calming indie music was the perfect fit. Singer Molly Rankin sounded amazing live with her dreamy, otherworldly vocals. This is the kind of music I’ll listen to on sunset forest walks while imagining fairies flittering around in the branches.
“I guess we play here all the time, we’ll have to start saying we’re an Ottawa band,” Rankin said as the crowd cheered. Their stage presence was great, and I felt a little bad for the bands that played to smaller crowds on the final day. But the size of the audience doesn’t mean much, there were clearly a lot of people who took something away from each performance throughout the entire festival. I’ve already added a bunch of new bands into my daily and weekly music rotations—Alvvays being one of many new additions.
Avenoir was keeping the chill vibes going on the River stage but with R&B beats. The Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer played a mix of soulful and serene songs with 90s inspired drums and smooth vocals. The bar was lined with ladies as his sensuous tone drew them in closer.
Koffee, a Jamaican pop musician, was up last on the River stage and performed to a packed crowd that was eager to listen to her uplifting reggae beats. Koffee, who got her name after ordering coffee on a hot day when everyone else was getting soda, was a delightful sight to watch as she swayed with the punchy sounds of the steel drum and delivered raw, earthy vocals.
The festival grounds filled in a bit more as day turned to night and the final performance of the festival was about to begin. Gentle atmospheric music and soft shifting lights swallowed the crowd as we waited eagerly for the last band to take the stage. Although the crowd was small in comparison to other main acts, the stillness set the mood perfectly for The Smile.
As Thom Yorke walked out on stage, everyone cheered and howled and then fell silent again to give room for ghostly alt rock to consume us. His soft, sexy, and sublime voice paired with vibrant strobe lights hypnotized the audience into submission. As joints passed back and forth, it was the perfect music to lose yourself to whether you’re at a festival, in the woods, or lying in bed. Their sound is the same both live and digitally, a true testament to their talent. The difference for me is feeling Yorke’s power and presence as I watched him pour his soul into his music through deep facial expressions and body movements.
The Smile is an English rock band comprising two members from Radiohead, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner from Sons of Kemet. Radiohead shirts peppered the festival as fans naturally gravitated to support The Smile as well. The two bands have similar sounds and if you enjoy one, you’ll absolutely enjoy the other.
As their captivating set came to an end, it was easily my favorite performance of the festival and the one I resonated with the most. I appreciated the attention to detail in their songs and Yorke’s alluring voice. I left with my The Smile tour shirt proudly in hand.
And that’s a wrap!
Thank you to RBC Bluesfest and everyone who made the festival possible (shoutout to the 2,500 volunteers), thank you to the 300,000 attendees who showed up over nine days with good spirits, and thank you to all of the talented and dedicated musicians that made this year a festival to remember.
And I especially want to thank Laura Collins and all of the amazing photographers who captured all of the special moments for us to enjoy for years to come.
See you in 2024! ✌️
