A “Rocking” Evening Had by All at CityFolk Day 3 as Headstones Rocks the Night Away

Day three at CityFolk Music Festival had the rock and roll fans up on their feet all night long and from the very first beat, set the incredible energy for the remainder of the evening. The lineup hosted very versatile styles of music, and contained something for everyone that was sure to leave fans going home stuck with a smile on their face.

Kicking off the third day of the festival was C.A. & Sonny as a part of the TD Plays the Plaza- Free Concert Series. This duo consists of a variety of string instruments that focus on bringing back the old folk traditional music that the new music has drawn away from a bit. They have a relaxed and calm composure and their connection and passion can be sensed by anyone who observes their performances. It consists of Sonny Aiken, an Ottawa local who is known for his yodelling and his entertaining personality. Beside him on stage is New Brunswick native C.A. Jackson who is now established in Ottawa. Jackson is known for his impeccable guitar picking and his dedication to the art of music. They had merchandise briefcases set up which included t-shirts, CDs, and pins. They played their songs “Cannonball”, “Before My Time”, “My Sweetie Turned Me Down” and many more. They don’t have songs available on streaming platforms, but if you’re interested in hearing their incredible music here’s a link you can follow to hear them. https://caandsonny.ca/music.html 

 

With her 3+ million streams on Spotify, the bilingual singer Geneviève Racette opened the Courtside Stage at 5:30 p.m. Accompanied by percussion and an electric guitar, Geneviève and her acoustic guitar opened her set with her original song “Hostage” from her 2022 album “Satellite”. “Satellite” is her most recent album, coming out in 2022. Racette is a Canadian Folk Music Award Winner who has won the hearts of many fans all over the world because of her bilingual factors and also for having over half of her team be incredible females who represent women all over the world so beautifully. She has a variety of English and French music and shared many funny stories about her own life and the reasons behind her songs. She connected with the audience by sharing how she’s an independent artist who is proud of her ability to maintain her independence and also maintain her personal life. She shared how she was at a dark place in her life, AKA the dating world, which led us to her song “Maybe”, also from her recent album. Racette is a captivating artist who drew the crowd in with her flawless vocal runs and her beautiful harmonies which were executed by the vocalists who accompanied her. She played an unreleased song titled “Same Old Me”, about her insecurities and allowed the audience to support her in her vulnerability. A chuckling moment for the audience was when she announced her percussionist was single and ready to mingle, throwing her under the bus and putting her out there. Everything was perfected to a T, and she is an incredible storyteller who has an incredible capability to speak to the hearts of the audience.

 

6 p.m. kicking off the TD Main Stage saw Sven Gali. 2023 is bringing back the better-than-ever return of Sven Gali, who has a new album coming titled “Bombs and Battlescars”. 1987 saw the beginning of this band which originated from Hamilton, and they are looking to come back stronger after their 1992 self-titled album made it huge in the industry which got them going. As they began to take the stage, fans could be seen running in from the entrance to get right up front. This heavy metal/hard rock band was sure to make a powerful and memorable entrance to the stage. Vocalist Dave Wanless, guitarist Andy Frank, bassist Shawn Minden, guitarist Sean Williamson, and drummer Dan Fila sure came to the party tonight at CityFolk and made sure to set the tone of the stage for the performers later on in the evening on the main stage, Headstones and Bush. Wanless began by pumping the crowd up and by commemorating those who were here early stating “The rockstars show up for the beginning of the evening” and that the crowd was small but mighty.

They opened their set with their song titled “Freakz” and immediately had the crowd into it by amping up their energy even more. When you can truly see how much a band loves what they do and how much they feel the music, their smiles while they perform are so much more meaningful. Their performance of their single “Sweet Little Gypsy” from their album “Sven Gali” made the charts and got their career started in 1992. They shared how in their 30 years they’ve been across Canada and back 11 times, through the United States and the United Kingdom but they always love coming back home. To celebrate coming home, they played a new track called “One Gun” off their upcoming album.  Countless times they thanked the fans for their applauses and for how interactive they were, also quoting how since they’re up first he gets to come out after and drink beer with the fans. As fast-paced and upbeat as their music was, somehow it’s the most emotional heart and soul I’ve felt from a band in a very long time. 

With deep ancestry roots in Cape Breton, Villages aims to revive the Cape Breton sound all while incorporating new contemporary components. Villages took the Courtside Stage at 6:30 p.m. and dragged a great crowd over. In 2019, the band won Folk Recording of the Year in Nova Scotia at the Nova Scotia Music Awards. Their inspirations are British Isles Folk, Celtic, and Traditional roots and music styles. The band, consisting of Matt Ellis, Travis Ellis, Jon Pearo, and Archie Rankin took to the stage playing a variety of different instruments that when all put together sounded exactly what you could imagine it would feel like to drive through Cape Breton. Their beautiful harmonies and their chemistry on stage had the audience’s toes tapping and their heads nodding. Every song got a cheering ovation from the audience, especially when they pulled out their banjo. I mean cmon, would it be Folk/Celtic ancestry if there WASN’T a banjo involved??

There were no seats available in the main audience area, it was standing room only from start to finish for this incredible band. They have two albums out, one released in 2019 titled Villages which includes 8 songs including their most streamed title track “Maggie of the Cove”, and a second album released this year titled Dark Island which includes popular songs such as “Love Will Live On” and “Play the Fiddle All Night”. This band is a favourite here in Canada’s capital, and one that should be on your watchlist in the years to come. They ended their night by signing autographs at the merchandise table and interacting with fans.

1987 was a huge year for the beginning of rock bands, as this is also the year punk-rock band Headstones was formed. Despite breaking up in 2003, 2011 saw the rekindling of the fire they had lit two decades ago. They began out like most musicians, playing for any ears that were willing to take in what they were performing. Their attitudes can be compared to Wednesday night headliner Iggy Pop, and they have made their fair share of cross-country tours as well as performing for large crowds who anxiously awaited their performance. Band members Hugh Dillon (lead singer), Trent Carr (guitarist), Steve Carr (keyboardist), Tim White (bassist), and Jesse Labovitz (drums) recently released their full-length album which has been long awaited by many fans titled Flight Risk in 2022, after their 2019 release of their album titled PEOPLESKILLS. The host from Live 88.5 shared with the crowd how Headstones inspired him to begin his band and expressed his excitement and gratitude for their performance. Hugh Dillon ran out screaming “What’s up Ottawa” and the crowd absorbed every ounce of energy he was throwing out and doubled it, throwing it right back on stage.

Dillon on the very first song went down to the audience and immediately interacted with them during their performance of “Pinned You Down” from their 2000 album titled Nickels For Your Nightmares. Performing a wide range and variety of music, Headstones pulled a song from every album they’ve released, drawing the crowd in and providing something for everyone, including a cover of “House of the Rising Sun”. I think it’s safe to say that Hugh Dillon spent more time in the audience than he did on stage, asking audience members at times what they wanted to hear. One fan’s request was “Losing Control” from their 1993 album titled Picture of Health. They requested that instead of purchasing merchandise, everyone sign the petition on their website. The energy brought by this band drew the crowd in and provided an insane sense of passion and soul.

Canada’s capital was the band, Fortunate Ones, last Canadian show before they hit the United States of America for more performances. Newfoundland natives Catherine and Andrew and well known across the country after their debut album The Bliss in 2015 was nominated for a JUNO Award, and also landed not once, but twice on CBC Radio at #1. They received three Music Newfoundland Awards for the album and that was just the beginning of their success. 2022 saw the release of their album That Was Me and You and Ottawa is so lucky to have them here tonight on the Courtside Stage at 7:30 p.m. Catherine played the Accordion, Andrew the acoustic guitar, and on stage was also a bass, an electric guitar, and drums. They began with their song titled “Heavy Heart” from their 2022 album That Was Me and You and had the audience sing with them during the bridge. Despite Headstones being on the TD Main Stage, the crowd did not disappoint with once again absolutely no room to sit or stand. They played their song “Wherever You Go” from their 2015 album The Bliss and had an incredible balance of new stuff in the works and also old stuff that’s already released. Their humorous personality and entertaining comments between each song had the crowd laughing and waiting for more. They beautifully executed their entire set and their humbleness and Newfie aspects shone through so brightly, making them so easily admirable. They spent the last few minutes of the night signing autographs and meeting new and existing fans at the merchandise table. 

With over 23 consecutive hit singles on the charts, there’s no questioning why the crowd was so pumped for Bush to make their appearance on the TD Main Stage to close out Friday night. 1994 saw their album SIXTEEN STONE go platinum six times, and their other albums following closely in their footsteps, Bush has sold over twenty million records in North America. Out of their 11 top hits, 6 hit the top 5 and band members Gavin Rossdale (vocalist, songwriter, guitarist), Chris Traynor (guitarist), Corey Britz (bassist), and Nil Hughes (drummer) made their reappearance in 2011 releasing their first studio album in over a decade titled THE SEA OF MEMORIES.

Ever since, they’ve been back and better than ever and Canada’s capital was so excited to have them. Formed in 1992 in London, this rock band was sure to make a staple here downtown tonight. Their name comes from where they originated from, which is Shepherd’s Bush, London, England. Their first album Sixteen Stone was a major success, sending them up the charts and around the world in fame. Before they even hit the stage, the incredible crowd that Headstones drew up almost doubled as fans anxiously awaited Bush’s premiere on stage. Fans all over could be seen wearing merchandise in support of the band as the minutes ticked down. The entire field to the very back was full of people and the sides began to fill in beautifully too. Bush had an incredible introduction with just the drummer on stage and eventually the rest of the band ran out dancing and jumping around.

They opened their set with their single “Identity” from their recent 2022 album The Art of Survival. Lead singer Gavin Rossdale utilized the stage the entire night alongside a platform placed at the front of the stage to show off his stellar dance moves. They moved smoothly in between songs while maintaining the same high-intensity energy the entire night. The front turned into a mosh pit as fans jumped all around dancing and screaming the lyrics to all the songs. The audience could be heard commenting on how Rossdale doesn’t age one bit and how he’s “aged like fine wine”. With just a single pick of the guitar strings, the entire audience recognized multiple songs immediately, screaming in excitement. This was the case for songs such as “Machinehead” from their 2014 Sixteen Stone (Remastered) album. They played songs from every decade they’ve been a band and halfway through the show people could be seen purchasing tickets at the gate. What a truly unforgettable way to end Day 3 at CityFolk and a great way for the band to end their summer. It was a rocking time by all, to say the least.

Saturday and Sunday are the final two days for the CityFolk Festival at Lansdowne Park in The Glebe. It’s promising to be an incredible final two days, with artists like David Kushner and KALEO on Saturday, September 16th, 2023, and Hozier closing the festival out on Sunday, September 17, 2023. For more information and ticket details, follow this link and join us for two final days of fun. https://cityfolkfestival.com/