Bluesfest announces Neil Young, 50 Cent, Nickleback and more for 2024

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Ottawa Bluesfest will host an epic 30th-anniversary party this summer, with a slate of headliners including rock legend Neil Young, hip hop heavyweight 50 Cent, Can-rockers Nickleback, Moves Like Jagger entertainers Maroon 5 and more.

The multi-stage concert extravaganza runs from July 4 to 14 in its usual home on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum at LeBreton Flats Park.

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Clearly the biggest fish to be reeled in this year is Young, who’s embarking on the first North American tour in a decade with his classic band, Crazy Horse. The last time they were in Ottawa was for an arena show in 2012.

“Any time you get the chance to do Neil Young, you gotta take it,” said Mark Monahan, executive and artistic director of Bluesfest. He had booked Young once before — to play CityFolk, Bluesfest’s sister festival, in 2013 — but that date was among the shows cancelled after one of the musicians was injured.

This time, Monahan said an inquiry was received from Young’s long-time booking agent, Marsha Vlasic, who also works with Iggy Pop. She had visited Ottawa last year to see Iggy tear up the CityFolk stage and offered Bluesfest the chance to book Young, although it took time to make it all happen.

“There are so many pieces some of these headliners have to put together to get a tour going,” Monahan said. “This has taken a few months, but we’re very excited.”

Young, 78, recently announced the first leg of his Love Earth tour, including a Canadian stop at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on May 20. A new album, Fu##in’Up, is due for release April 20 on vinyl and April 26 on all other formats.

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The Toronto-born Young will make his Bluesfest debut on July 11.

Other headliners confirmed for their first time at the festival include Maroon 5, the pop-rock outfit fronted by Adam Levine, and American rapper Nas, considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. Previously announced acts Mötley Crüe and Tyler Childers are also new to the festival roster.

For those acts returning to Bluesfest, it’s been a while. Nickelback pounded the main stage in 2012, while country-rockers Zac Brown Band played in 2013 and 50 Cent was the ringleader of a good time in 2017.

The festival is to start July 4 with a show elevating Canadian pop-rockers Mother Mother to main-stage status, and also including sets by festival favourites Orville Peck and Tokyo Police Club, among others.

July 5 is Nickelback’s day to shine, topping a bill also featuring Noah Cyrus, Ziggy Alberts and Warren Zeiders, among others. July 6 finds 50 Cent in the spotlight along with Mt. Joy, Shred Kelly, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, and more.

Maroon 5 is confirmed for July 7, with Future Islands, Pokey LaFarge, Chelsea Cutler and more, before the festival takes a two-day break. It roars back to life on July 10, when the  Zac Brown Band will chicken-fry your world, sharing space with Charley Crockett, Matthew Good, the Blackburn Brothers, Yonatan Gat and more.

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Young’s banner night on July 11 will also involve performances by Corb Lund, Josh Ross, Steph Strings and others, followed by country balladeer Childers on July 12. Filling out that day’s schedule are Bahamas, TALK, Bombino and more.

Hard-rockers Mötley Crüe will host a Saturday-night blowout on July 13, part of a bill also including The Tea Party, J.J. Wilde, Sean Pinchin, T.J. Wheeler, Tony D. and more.

Finally, it’s up to Nas to close out the festival on July 14, heading another diverse day of programming, with Ben Howard, Genevieve Racette, Le Winston Band, J.W. Jones and more.

While blues purists have long complained about the lack of blues in the lineup, Monahan says this year’s edition includes a daily dose of blues, usually on the tented Sirius XM stage. One highlight is expected to be the Blues Harp Blow-off featuring Ottawa’s Steve Marriner facing off against the American masters such as Jerry Portnoy, who used to play with Muddy Waters, and Annie Raines, one of the instrument’s top female players.

The festival is also an important showcase of Ottawa-area talent. Out of 600 regional acts vying for Bluesfest spots, about 40 were chosen, including LH Express, OK Naledi, Mia Kelly, Lynne Hanson, Murray Kinsley and Wicked Grin, Raphael Weinroth-Browne and Jessica Pearson and the East Wind.

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Full-festival passes, including platinum, VIP and general admission, are available during a presale running from 10 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 1. Single-day tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 2. To make a purchase, go to the frontgatetickets.com website.

Complete details are available at the ottawabluesfest.ca website.

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