Ottawa Bluesfest has shuffled its lineup for the night of July 17 in anticipation of huge crowds for Angine de Poitrine, the Quebec rock duo that has been exploding in popularity. The pair from Saguenay, Que. played to a record-breaking crowd at the Montreal Jazz Festival last Saturday, in a show with numbers not seen since Stevie Wonder played in 2009, according to organizers. The act was originally booked to play a different stage on July 17, the same night as headliners Sheryl Crow and Ella Langley. But this week, festival organizers confirmed a schedule change that would see gates open early and Angine de Poitrine take to the main RBC Stage. “To accommodate this updated schedule, gates will open at 4:30 p.m. and we encourage everyone to ARRIVE EARLY!” Ottawa Bluesfest said in a post on social media announcing the change. The first act, Nayana, will play at 5 p.m., with Angine de Poitrine scheduled to play at 6 p.m. They will be followed by Sheryl Crow at 7:30 and Ella Langley at 9:15. The move was made in anticipation of a major crowd for the popular group. Angine de Poitrine are fresh off their second album, “Vol. II”, which released on April 3, 2026. Just days later, the duo turned up at Minotaure in Gatineau for a sold-out show. The two members of Angine de Poitrine, which means angina pectoris—a type of chest pain—in French, perform under alter-egos called Klek and Khn, and wear black and white polka-dot costumes with papier-mâché headpieces. Bluesfest will kick off on Thursday, July 9 with American country music singer Cody Johnson as the headliner, along with Jessie Murph, Rev. Run and Digable Planets. Other headliners include The Lumineers, Gwen Stefani, Hardy, Limp Bizkit, and The Guess Who on July 19, the final night, marking the 200th anniversary of Bytown, now known as Ottawa.
