Ottawa Bluesfest kicks off Thursday night, with nine nights of music set to fill the air at LeBreton Flats. Bluesfest runs from Thursday until July 19, with music acts including Cody Johnson, Limp Bizkit, the Lumineers, Ella Langley, Sherly Crow, Gwen Stefani and The Guess Who. Executive and artistic director Mark Monahan tells CTV News Ottawa there are different ways to enjoy Bluesfest this year. “We’ve got six large screens throughout the whole main bowl, so, there’s all kinds of areas where you can sit. We put three new bleachers in as well, in the general admission areas, so, if you want to get right up front you can, but you want to sit back and enjoy the show, there’s lots of opportunity to do that.” As part of the Ottawa 200 celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of Ottawa, Bluesfest is hosting a special day of programming on July 19th, with free programming during the day. Monahan says he expects July 17 to be one of this year’s busiest nights, with Ella Langley headlining. “On that night as well, we’ve got Angine de Poitrine and Sheryl Crow. It’s stacked,” he said. “We booked (Angine de Poitrine) about eight months ago, and since that time, they’ve just taken off, like, phenomenal, I mean, unprecedented. We moved on to the main stage because we feel that a lot of people are going to want to see them.” CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about Ottawa Bluesfest. Tickets You can visit the Ottawa Bluesfest website for tickets, including the full festival pass and the Pick-3 Pass. A full festival pass is $428, and three-day passes are available. Here is the full lineup for Ottawa Bluesfest July 9 - Cody Johnson; Jessie Murph; Jade Hilton; DJ Champion, Digable Planets; Jermaine Holmes; GOAT; Lloyd Spiegel; The Longest Johns; Justin Fancy; Satellite Birdhouse; DJ Mace July 10 - Limp Bizkit; Cypress Hill; Marc Rebillet; Steve Earle; Hank Azaria and The EZ Street Band; Miko Marks; Gwenifer Raymond; Alicia Kayley; F!TH; My Son The Hurricane; SexBandit; DJ Mace July 11- HARDY; BigXthaPlug; Patrick Watson; cleopatrick; Luna Li; Mo Kenney; Ron Artis II; Aspects; Kat Pereira; Tiny Horse; DJ Mace; DJ Kwame July 12 - The Lumineers; bbno$; Leif Vollebekk; Hazlett; DijahSB; Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band; Kelly McMichael; JOLY; Les Rats d’Swompe; summersets; DJ Karyen July 15 - Conan Gray; Myles Smith; Natasha Bedingfield; Sons of Legion; All-Star Women’s Blues Showcase; Reuben and The Bullhorn Singers; Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears; Nikki D & The Sisters of Thunder; Adam Karch; Mecca of Stank; Reuben Bullock; Dominique Way; DJ Karyen July 16 - Lord Huron; Social Distortion; Lucy Dacus; Royel Otis; Dope Lemon; Billy Bragg; Thee Sinseers; The Pairs; Jamie Webster; Jadea Kelly; Koko Love; Nico Little and The North Americans; DJ Karyen July 17 - Ella Langley; Sheryl Crow; Death From Above 1979; Valerie June; Angine de Poitrine; JIMI; Thunder Queens; Nayana; The Jay Blues Trio; Emerging Artist Showcase; TYR ONE; Nick Earle and The Reckless Hearts; Joe H Henry July 18 - Gwen Stefani; Mariah The Scientist; Shaggy; Grace Bowers; Billie du Page; Aqyila; Here Come The Mummies; The Texas Horns; TJ Wheeler; Bridge Music; Eadsé; TYR ONE; Bridge Music; Aqyila July 19 - The Guess Who; Connor Price; The Sheepdogs; Elisapie; Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar; 4KORNERS; Banggz; LeFLOFRANCO; Paolo Stante Band; Rebelle; Savannah Shea; TYR ONE; River City Junction July 19 Free Programming Ottawa Bluesfest will host an afternoon of free music and programming to celebrate Ottawa’s 200th birthday, as part of the final night of this year’s festival at LeBreton Flats. “We’ve got lots of activities in the park. We’ve got several museums coming in with activations. We’ve got free programming,” Monahan said. “Then in the evening, we have an all-Canadian line up culminating in The Guess Who on the main stage.” The free daytime lineup between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. will include performances by Natalie MacMaster & Family, Choir!Choir!Choir!, and Les Petites Tounes, along with Blues In The Schools and Be In The Band Showcases. There will also be family-friendly activities at LeBreton Flats, including circus demonstrations and aerial performances by Cirquonscient, activities with Ottawa Fire Services, and museum fun with the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. OC Transpo People heading to Bluesfest can travel on OC Transpo buses, the O-Train and Para Transpo for free. OC Transpo says ticket holders can travel for free up to three hours before and two hours after the event on the date their Bluesfest pass is valid. Organizers say you can show your pass to board. When boarding the O-Train, use the video chat function on ticket machines at O-Train stations to request access through the fare gate. OC Transpo general manager Rick Leary says additional buses will be available to supplement service levels “where needed” during Bluesfest, and O-Train Lined 1 will operate more frequently in the evenings. Fans can access LeBreton Flats from Pimisi, Bayview and Lyon stations during Bluesfest. Cashless venue LeBreton Flats is a cashless venue for Ottawa Bluesfest. Food, beverage and merchandise vendors accept Interac, all major credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Prohibited items All festivalgoers and their belongings are subject to a search before entering. Ottawa Bluesfest says the following items will not be allowed onto the festival’s grounds: Road closures Kichi Zībī Mīkan, between Parkdale Avenue and Booth Street Kichi Zībī Mīkan, between Parkdale Avenue and the Portage Bridge With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Kimberley Fowler
