By this time of the year, Bluesfest has usually announced at least some of the acts coming to Ottawa. Here’s when they expect to release it.
The Bluesfest lineup for 2025 should be released within the month, says the executive and artistic director of Ottawa’s biggest summer music festival.
“It’s always the last few pieces which unfortunately sometimes just drag on,” Bluesfest boss Mark Monahan said in an interview this week. “But I am hoping that we will have this out by the end of the month.”
The 31st edition of the festival takes place July 10-20 at LeBreton Flats Park on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum.
Historically, a late-February lineup drop is in line with past years as the festival usually announces the program by March 1. But in recent years some confirmed artists have been revealed months ahead of the official announcement. Last year’s Motley Crue announcement, for example, came before Christmas 2023.
This year, on the other hand, there’s been nary a peep from festival headquarters, except for a poll that went out a couple of weeks ago asking fans to build their dream lineup. The callout prompted concern: They need input at this stage of the game? Shouldn’t the program be almost done by now?
“Yes, it should be,” Monahan replied, dismissing concerns and describing the poll as a “fun exercise” in engaging the audience, “whether it’s for this year or another year.”
As for revealing certain artists early, he says the benefit is unclear.
“We played around with it in the last few years, and I’m not sure it does anything for us or against us,” he said. “We used to just reveal everything together, so we thought we’ll do that again.”
Bluesfest and its sister festival, CityFolk, both did well last year. No records were set, Monahan said, but the two festivals “enjoyed some of the best years coming out of COVID that we’ve ever had.
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“Audiences have continued to grow and there’s been a lot of support from local businesses, corporate sponsors and volunteers,” he said. “We’ve got so many great partners, and the support and resources we get (from them) makes such a difference in putting on a festival.”
Still, there are ongoing challenges involved in booking a major music festival in 2025. The value of the Canadian dollar is down, costs are up and competition is fierce as other festivals in Canada, the United States and Europe vie for the same headlining artists.
At the same time, though, the global concert industry is on a high, and a new generation of artists is ascending to main-stage status.
“It’s actually an amazing time right now in the festival world because there are so many great artists touring and so many new artists who are really garnering an audience and making great music,” Monahan said. “More people are buying concert tickets, more bands are touring and there’s never been a bigger demand for live music.”
And, despite the threat of tariffs that could put a chill on Ottawans’ consumer spending, history shows that Bluesfest is somewhat immune to economic downturns, Monahan observed.
“I know, in the 30 years that we’ve been doing this, we don’t see a trend line that goes in relation to inflation or unemployment. It is a discretionary expense, but people seem to want to spend money on entertainment. They seem to need it.”
Meanwhile, speculation on this year’s lineup is rampant on social media. Bluesfest fan Mark Ouellet has created a spreadsheet again this year that lists dozens of artists, colour-coded to indicate their likelihood of playing the festival. His research takes into account touring schedules, nearby festival lineups that have been announced and whether or not the artist is already playing Ottawa this year.
The spreadsheet is accessible to members of the Ottawa Bluesfest Fan Page on Facebook.
Among the “solid” predictions are: Tyler, the Creator, the Pixies, ZZ Top and the Wallflowers, while recent additions to the list of possibilities include Fall Out Boy, Zach Bryan and Sheryl Crow.
Just one act is considered a certainty for Bluesfest at this time. That would be Father John Misty, who, fans discovered, has already produced a tour T-shirt that lists a show in Ottawa in July.
Monahan declined to comment on the predictions, but did point out there would be a good chunk of Canadian content for those looking to invest their cash in homegrown products.
“We always have a lot of Canadian content,” he said. “But we are presenting a lineup for the masses, and, when you do that, you’ve got to book some of the biggest talent that’s available. Besides the fees we spend on American artists, almost all the other dollars are spent on Canadians. We are really a made-in-Ottawa product.”
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