Ottawa Folk Festival Recap: A Very Canadian Festival

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The end of the Ottawa folk festival was truly the end of an amazing experience. The music was amazing of course, but the festival experience was so special and felt distinctly Canadian to me. To say the least, the weather was cold and wet, and really the kind of weather that you see in the morning and think, “Yeah I should really stay inside today.” But what made the Ottawa folk festival so special was that everyone beside you in the crowd decided to enjoy an amazing music festival rather than stay home.

On Friday, the highlight of the night for me was definitely The National. Having fans across generations, and music that you wouldn’t think could be improved by much, they put on an amazing performance. It looked like they were having fun, especially when the lead singer jumped into the crowd near the end of the night. Lee Fields and The Expressions also played on Friday, and their jazzy style was neat. I felt like I was transported back in time, and I mean this in the best way possible. There was some seriously interesting dancing to say the least.

The next night, Blue Rodeo made the rain and freezing weather worth it. After having ingested several litres of hot beverages throughout the day, this performance made my night. Blue Rodeo performed so well, and everyone really seemed to enjoy them. This was especially true during classic Blue Rodeo songs- all in all it was a really great night.

The last day of the festival, I spent some more time in the vending tents. There were many different types of delicious – seriously – beers and they were only $2-3 for tester cups. This was pretty nice considering the price of beer at usual festivals. Of the Sunday performances, I really enjoyed Coeur de Pirate and Hey Rosetta! Both artists gave really enjoyable performances.