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Ottawa Citizen
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Ottawa Citizen
Bluesfest 2025: Everything you need to know about Ottawa's biggest music festival
Article content Bluesfest is Ottawa's biggest summer music festival, a nine-day, multi-stage extravaganza that takes place on the grounds of (and inside) the Canadian War Museum at LeBreton Flats Park. Article content The site is located on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River, not far from Parliament Hill and downtown Ottawa. This year marks its 31st anniversary. More than 300,000 people are expected to attend. Article content Article content Article content It took place at Major's Hill Park on a weekend in July 1994, with a lineup that included Clarence Clemons, Randy Bachman and Buckwheat Zydeco. Monahan is still the festival's executive and artistic director. Article content Article content It brings a level of concert activity that takes over the city. A full-festival pass allows fans of all ages to see multiple concerts each night, not just the main-stage headliner, and there are always new artists to discover. Article content Bluesfest performers are chosen specifically because they put on great live shows, and the whole thing takes place, rain or shine, in a picturesque location next to the majestic Ottawa River in the capital of Canada. Article content Article content No matter who's on stage, the main appeal of Bluesfest is that it's a party every night. Or, more accurately, it's a bunch of parties with different vibes and demographics at each stage. You will meet new people and discover new music. Article content After over three decades, it's also a well-organized party, run by a core team of salaried staff members working out of an office at Festival House, a repurposed church on Churchill Street. At festival time, an army of volunteers springs into action to help things run smoothly. Article content Over the years, Bluesfest has evolved into a multi-genre concert event. Here's the daily schedule for the main stage (also known as the RBC Stage) in 2025. The headliner is listed first.
New York Times
18-05-2025
- New York Times
‘She Was Trying to Tie Her Partner's Bow Tie but Kept Failing'
Bow Tied Dear Diary: I was riding the Q from Manhattan to Brooklyn on a Saturday afternoon. A man and a woman who were very dressed up were sitting across from me. She was in a cocktail dress, and he was wearing a tuxedo. They were on their way to a fund-raising event for Prospect Park. She was trying to tie her partner's bow tie but kept failing. As we approached the Manhattan Bridge, another man offered the woman his phone. He had found a video showing how to tie a bow tie. The woman followed the instructions on the video with some help from riders sitting nearby, and, voilà, the tie was perfect. Everyone who been following the events smiled and clapped. Then another man took a picture of the perfectly tied bow tie so the man in the tuxedo could see it too. — Flo Rubinson The Big Man Dear Diary: In 1984, I was fresh out of college and living on East 44th Street and Second Avenue. I had an entry-level job on East 74th and I took the Second Avenue bus home every night. Once, someone reached into my purse while I was on the bus and stole my wallet without my even noticing. The thief got my credit cards, my driver's license, and what little cash I had. (I didn't carry much at the time since I only made about $186 a week.) What was truly devastating was the loss of a Heineken label I had been carrying in my wallet for some time. It was from a memorable evening. I was at Big Man's West in Red Bank, N.J., a club owned by Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band. I was sitting at a table with Clarence himself. Out of sheer nervousness, I had peeled the Heineken label off a bottle in one piece. Clarence saw me do it, took the label and signed it: 'Right on! Love, The Big Man, Clarence Clemons.' I could get a new license and credit cards, but that label was irreplaceable. About three weeks later, I received a notice from the post office. A package with $1.08 postage due was waiting for me there. It turned out that the thief had taken the money and then tossed my wallet into a mailbox. I got back my license, credit cards and, unbelievably, the Heineken label! I still have it to this day but no longer carry it with me. I know I couldn't get that lucky twice. — Mandy Cooper At the Pool Dear Diary: On a hot July afternoon a few years ago, I brought my 9-month-old baby to a public pool in our Queens neighborhood. As a new parent, I was overwhelmed by all the steps required to get a wriggling baby into the water. Regular diaper off, swim diaper on, onesie off, bathing suit on, etc. On top of all that, the pool had a long list of rules and a staff whose members were diligently enforcing them with frequent blasts of their whistles. Finally, we got into the pool. My baby splashed around in the cool water for a bit, and then we got out to sit on a lounge chair and breastfeed. A few minutes later, an older woman who worked there approached us. I had seen her keeping strict order around the pool, and my body tightened as I prepared to be told we were breaking the rules in one way or another. Instead, her face broke into a smile as she passed by. 'Go, mama, go!' she said. — Lindsey Lange-Abramowitz Tosca Dear Diary: We were returning from a vacation in Spain. Our first stop was on West Broadway to retrieve our African gray parrot, Tosca. From there we took a taxi to our Nassau Street home. As we exited the cab in front of our building, we were greeted by the familiar cacophony of horns, sirens and bustling people. My wife spied a fresh fruit cart on the corner near Pace University. 'I'll be right back,' she said as she walked away with Tosca on her shoulder. Suddenly, I heard her yell, 'Tosca, Tosca,' and saw her running down Park Place with people following her and yelling, 'Oscar, Oscar.' A gust of wind had apparently lifted Tosca off her shoulder and was carrying her down the street. She soon landed and began to screech: 'Taxiiii, taxiiiiiii.' 'Is that pigeon calling a taxi?' a woman who appeared somewhat bewildered said. Yes, indeed. We had taught Tosca to say 'taxiii' when she wanted to be carried around our loft. Luckily, my wife reached Tosca before any harm came to her, offered her a finger and then carried her home amid cheers and laughter from those who had gathered to watch. — Penny Bamford Friendly Driver Dear Diary: I was getting on an M5 bus going downtown from Columbia. I was on a call with my husband and hauling a suitcase, which made it difficult to use my phone to pay the fare. 'I love you,' my husband said as I fumbled with the phone. 'I love you too,' the bus driver said. — Simone Pinet Read all recent entries and our submissions guidelines. Reach us via email diary@ or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter. Do you have a tale of a memorable experience that involved someone dressing in public in New York City? Please submit it below or share it in the comments. While you're there, join the conversation.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Bruce Springsteen review – a roaring, rousing show that imagines a better America
Before Bruce Springsteen sings a word on the opening night of his European tour, he has something to get off his chest. 'The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock'n'roll in dangerous times,' he says. 'The America I love is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.' The band then launch into a roaring, rousing version of Land of Hope and Dreams, as strings swoop, brass soars and Springsteen gives an impassioned take of the song he sang for Clarence Clemons on his deathbed. Followed by Death to My Hometown – with the titular lyrics delivered with venomous sting – it sets the tone for an evening that is bruised and angry yet also hopeful and filled with love. The band – who Springsteen calls a 'booty-shaking, lovemaking, Viagra-taking, history-making' outfit – are a hurricane force; so tight and in lockstep that they actually feel loose and relaxed. Darkness on the Edge of Town purrs along, almost grooving; The Promised Land is as potent as it is poignant. There is an inescapable feeling of loss that permeates the evening, with Springsteen mourning the corroded spirit and erased freedoms of the country he loves so dearly. However, as political and polemical as much of it is – there are multiple speeches – it's not all doom and gloom. Springsteen sings the line 'hard times come and hard times go' in Wrecking Ball with such seething intensity it feels like a mantra. The final stretch is bursting with joy though and its emphatic run exists as a symbol of love over hate and the power of unity over division, as ground-shaking, lung-busting versions of Badlands, Thunder Road, Born to Run and Dancing in the Dark ring out. But the choice to finish on a fiery yet emotional version of Bob Dylan's Chimes of Freedom hits home a clear message tonight. And despite the hurt and despair that underpins much of it, there are few artists able to pluck hope from the darkest depths of the US, with such elegance and beauty, quite like Bruce Springsteen.
