The 31st edition of Ottawa Bluesfest returns to LeBreton Flats Park in 2025 with a diverse array of headliners
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It’s going to be a sweet year for Bluesfest as Ottawa’s biggest summer music festival unveils a program that casts a wide net in its ability to lure patrons.
American punk trio Green Day, Canadian country queen Shania Twain and British hard rockers Def Leppard are the biggest names on the wide-ranging slate of headliners confirmed to appear at this year’s event.
“We’ve always got something for everyone,” said Mark Monahan, the executive and artistic director of the event. “But this year is well-rounded, too.”
The 31st edition of the music festival runs from July 10-20 in its usual home at LeBreton Flats Park on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum next to the Ottawa River. It features four stages devoted to live music, three of which are outdoors and one inside the museum, plus two smaller DJ stages.
It will mark the first Bluesfest appearance for both Green Day and Def Leppard, and the second for Twain, who set a record in 2023 to become the festival’s earliest sellout.
The country superstar is one of two repeat headliners on a program that also features Bluesfest debuts by Irish hitmaker Hozier, country darling Lainey Wilson, hardcore punks Turnstile, rock band Papa Roach and Canadian electronic producer Kaytranada.
You have to reach way back to 2008 to find the only other artist of this year’s lineup — dancehall-reggae star Sean Paul — to previously appear on a Bluesfest mainstage.
“After three decades, it’s unrealistic that you’re not going to repeat some acts, but you try to book acts that are relevant and have not played the market in a decent amount of time,” said Monahan, who’s also a co-founder of the event.
It was not an onerous job to fill in the lineup this year, he added, partly because so many acts are planning to tour this summer.
The key was to start early because “a lot of the headliners and bigger acts are planning further out,” he said. The first offers on Green Day and Twain, for example, were submitted a year ago.
Beyond the headliners, the support acts are particularly strong this year, resulting in well-curated matchups such as the Red Clay Strays opening for Wilson, the Pixies opening for Turnstile and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello and his new band performing ahead of Def Leppard.
Other noteworthy participants include Father John Misty, The Cat Empire, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Alan Doyle, Daughtry, The Decemberists, Dead South and many more. Not to be overlooked is a contingent of about 40 Ottawa-area bands, including folk trio Leverage For Mountains, jazzy funksters Funk Yo Self and bluesman J.W-Jones, to name a few.
The blues content at Bluesfest is worth checking out, too, with performances by the likes of youthful contemporary bluesman Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Grammy-nominated, Ottawa-born guitarist Sue Foley and funky riffmeister Fantastic Negrito.
Single-day tickets and VIP tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 27.
Who’s playing Ottawa Bluesfest in 2025?
Here’s a glance at the preliminary lineup announced Feb. 25. The headliner’s name appears first.
July 10: Lainey Wilson; The Red Clay Strays; Father John Misty; The Cat Empire; Linka Moja; Melbourne Ska Orchestra; Chambers DesLauriers; DB Cohen; Garnetta Cromwell & DaGroovmasters; Riley Burns; Rosewood Avenue; DJ Karyen.
July 11: Hozier; The Dead South; Charlotte Day Wilson; Sarah Harmer; Amigo The Devil; The Claudettes; Claude Munson; Emilie Steele & The Deal; Kristine St-Pierre; Sophie d’Orléans, Vikki Gilmore; DJ Karyen.
July 12: Turnstile; Pixies; Men I Trust; Kurt Vile & The Violators; The Budos Band; Sue Foley; Shaina Hayes; André Bisson; Melissa Ouimet; Rosie’s Smokehouse Deluxe; DJ Karyen; Emerging Artist Showcase.
July 13: Shania Twain; Alan Doyle; Wild Rivers; Big Freedia; The Paper Kites; Darrell Nulisch; Edwin Raphael; Alanna J Brown; Buck Twenty; Jessie Simmons; Leverage For Mountains; DJ DoubleDown.
July 14-15: Dark (no shows)
July 16: Def Leppard; Tom Morello; The Decemberists; Reignwolf; D.K. Harrell; Amos The Transparent; Beau Nectar; Funk Yo Self; Le Winston Band; Luscious; The Sarandons; DJ DoubleDown.
July 17: Sean Paul; G-Eazy; Peach Pit; Harry Manx; Alicia Moffet; Jolie Laide; Lilyisthatyou; Moontricks; Durham County Poets; Dystoh; Sofia Duhaime; DJ DoubleDown.
July 18: Green Day; The Linda Lindas; Dwayne Gretzky; Fantastic Negrito; Ron Sexsmith; Les Shirley; Los Bitchos; Four Eyed Muscle Man; Jahmeema; N’nerjie; The Commotions; DJ Acro.
July 19: Papa Roach; Daughtry; Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram; Lucius; Bob Log III; The Texas Horns; TJ Wheeler; JW Jones; Hellhound Trail; Rubber Tire Peep Show; We Were Sharks; DJ Acro.
July 20: Kaytranada; BADBADNOTGOOD; Tim Baker; Lou Phelps; Darren Kiely; Joce Reyome; Catriona Sturton; Elizabeth Royall; Nolan Hubbard; Be In The Band Showcase; Blues In The Schools Showcase; DJ Acro.