Bluesfest ends on a high note with Canadian rock royalty The Guess Who

15 hours ago 14

Article content

Currie reminisced about cruising the snow-swept streets of Saskatoon in his vintage Plymouth and rocking The Guess Who’s Greatest Hits — his “go-to album” — on the stereo.

Article content

Four-time JUNO Award-winning rock band The Sheepdogs performs on the RBC Stage during Ottawa Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats, Sunday, July 19, 2026.

Article content

The Sheepdogs rolled out a greatest hits package of their own Sunday as the main-stage crowd steadily swelled under clear blue skies.

Article content

Air-quality warnings were finally lifted Sunday with a welcome reprieve from the wildfire smoke that had been hanging over the capital, which was soon replaced by a smoky haze of another variety wafting over the sunbaked LeBreton Flats grounds.

Article content

Currie and company certainly looked the part as his shaggy Sheepdogs took the stage decked out in tassled leather vests, heeled boots, striped pants and bell bottoms straight out of That ’70s Show, handlebar moustaches and wild hair flying in the wind through extended solos on their vintage Gibson guitars.

Article content

They wear their influences on their sleeves, with tasteful nods to Southern rock originators The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd — and an occasional riff lifted from ZZ Top or Steppenwolf for good measure — yet The Sheepdogs manage to carve out a sound all their own.

Article content

That was evident right from the opening notes of I’m Gonna Be Myself, with its crunchy chords, creamy harmonized guitar licks, breezy vocal melody and grinding Hammond organ, courtesy of Ewan’s brother Shamus Currie.

Article content

The rollicking blues of Bad For Your Health followed with Ewan Currie harmonizing with lead guitarist Ricky Paquette in their best dual-guitar impression of Duane Allman and Dickie Betts.

Article content

They kept the good times rolling with their hit Who? followed by their “song of the summer of 2011” Southern Dreaming, Keep Out of the Storm and I Do, featuring a screaming guitar solo from Paquette as he struck his best rock star pose at centre stage back-to-back with bassist Ryan Gullen.

Article content

The band hit its high point with an extended jam on Bad Lieutenant, with the dulcet tones of Shamus Currie’s Fender Rhodes electric piano providing the perfect counterpoint to Paquette and Ewan Currie’s duelling lead guitars.

Article content

“Alright, now we’re cookin’,” Ewan Currie declared before leading a call-and-response with the crowd. They kept the heat on high with How Late How Long, Nobody But You, Take Me for a Ride and their breakout 2012 hit Feeling Good.

Article content

That left the crowd feeling good and fully primed for The Guess Who.

Article content

Wakefield-based alt-rock band Rebelle performs on the RBC Stage during Ottawa Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats, Sunday, July 19, 2026.

Article content

It was a slightly younger generation of fans who turned out in the afternoon as Rebelle, the pride of Wakefield, blitzed through a tight opening set of crunchy power chords, driving beats and hook-infused synth riffs.

Article content

The brother-and sister duo of guitarist and vocalist David Taggart and keyboardist Rylee Taggart were expertly elevated by guitarist Ryan Wiles and drummer Joey Kane on the thunderous Kicks, which David Taggart introduced as “a song about someone I don’t like much.”

Article content

Wiles, who Taggart introduced as “a guy I’ve known since Grade 3,” took over lead vocal duties and bounced around the stage on Easy while Taggart revved up his raunchy guitar licks and sister Rylee countered with sweet, catchy synth flourishes.

Article content

Rebelle really hit their stride with their 2017 hit Hide and they thanked local rock radio station Live 88.5 for supporting the band’s recent single Frustrated. By the time they fired up their set-closing The Rapture, it was easy to see why Rebelle has become something of a household name around these parts.

Article content

*** Disclaimer: This Article is auto-aggregated by a Rss Api Program and has not been created or edited by Bdtype.

(Note: This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News Rss Api. News.bdtype.com Staff may not have modified or edited the content body.

Please visit the Source Website that deserves the credit and responsibility for creating this content.)

Watch Live | Source Article