The first act confirmed for the 2026 edition of
Ottawa Bluesfest
is the reconstituted classic-rock band the Guess Who, touring with original members Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman for the first time in more than two decades.
Next year’s edition of
Bluesfest, Ottawa’s biggest music festival
, runs from July 10 to 20, 2026, on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum at LeBreton Flats Park.
The Guess Who is scheduled to perform on the RBC main stage on July 19, topping off a day of special programming to mark the
200th anniversary of the city of Ottawa
.
For the band, the date is part of a Canadian tour celebrating the recent legal settlement that allowed Cummings and Bachman to reclaim the name of the band they started in Winnipeg six decades ago.
Original bassist Jim Kale had trademarked the name in the U.S. almost 20 years ago, and in a partnership with ex-drummer Garry Peterson, organized Guess Who tours featuring a troupe of hired musicians. Burton and Cummings objected, calling it the “fake” Guess Who.
In 2024, Cummings managed to convince the courts to ban the “fake” Guess Who from playing any song he had written or co-written, thereby eliminating big hits like These Eyes, American Woman, No Time, Share The Land and more from the setlist. The touring soon collapsed.
By September 2024, an out-of-court settlement was reached that gave control of the name back to Cummings and Bachman.
Their celebratory tour starts May 30, 2026, in Toronto, with dates announced in Hamilton, London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton.
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