Glorious Sons,Taking Back Sunday tore it up Saturday at Ottawa Bluesfest 2019

Saturday, Day 3 at the Ottawa Bluesfest. The humidity had finally broke but the heat was still intense and not just from the sun. The Bluesville stage continued to be host to some outstanding artists. The Texas Horns who have been perennial guest stars of the festival for close to 20 years, were joined by The Split for a set of their own. If you love blues which is heavily driven by a horn section, The Texas Horns are a band you don’t want to miss. Kaz Kazanoff, John Mills and Al Gomez had the room full of excitement and energy that was thoroughly enjoyed by a packed house.

Toronto Punk Rockers Pup hit the Citystage early evening and did not disappoint. Opening with Morbid Stuff followed by Kids, their fans were out in full force screaming along and loving every minute. Being a punk rock band, one would think that playing a festival sponsored by one of the biggest banking institutes in the country would be a bit contradictive. Frontman Stefan Babcock asked the crowd if it was a bit odd seeing them up on such a big stage. Guitarist Steve Sladkowski joked that at least the banking fees they have been paying out over the years are now coming back to them in the form of a paycheck.

United Kingdom native, Montreal resident Dawn Tyler Watson graced the Bluesville stage later on in the day accompanied by a band of very talented musicians, who lit up the stage up with serious dynamic. Watson’s sound is smooth and subtle and packs jazz, soul, gospel and blues all into one. The audience was on their feet appreciating every minute of her set. You can easily see why many consider her the Queen of the blues in Montreal.

The evening was still young when veteran rockers Taking Back Sunday took to the City Stage celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut record ‘ Tell All Your Friends’. The band has been performing the album in its entirety, along with hits like Cute Without the E (cut from the team) and You’re So Last Summer. Frontman Adam Lazzara was very interactive with the audience stating that he’s just a big nerd. He also let the audience know that drummer Mark O’Connell was unable to make it to the gig as he is home with a newborn baby. Fortunately, Against Me drummer Adam Willard answered the call and filled in quite nicely. The audience was starting to grow in size rapidly and the beer lineups were getting much longer.

Headlining the night’s festivities was Kingston natives Glorious Sons. Many would think that these guys would have been slowing down by now, yet just over a week ago, they had the opening slot for the Rolling Stones in Barrie, Ontario. From the looks of the band’s performance, they have become quite comfortable on the bigger stage. Performing close to 20 songs, which included all the band’s hits such as the much loved “Sawed-off Shotgun”, “Josie”, “Sometimes on a Sunday” and covers of Pat Benatar’s “Love is Battlefield” and Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You”. The band rocked out hard and had the packed audience of fans that were of all ages singing and dancing along all night.

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