Ella Langley 'so grateful' for army of Ottawa fans at Bluesfest

Bluesfest attendees watch as Ella Langley performs on a screen during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday, July 17, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /POSTMEDIA

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It was one of the rare occasions a Bluesfest show has sold out in advance.

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“I’m so grateful,” Langley said of the massive turnout on an idyllic evening, holding it up as a reward for working hard and following your dreams.

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“I just always believed it was my calling,” she explained. “If you feel called to do something in your life, do it. It’s gonna be hard but it pays off. Stick with the thing that makes you who you are.”

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At 27, the Southerner described herself as a small-town girl with a big dream and a “thing” for being on stage. She is blessed with a copious amount of personal charisma, in addition to her musical talent, and showed a remarkable ability to connect with the vast audience in front of her.

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In her cute, sparkly dress, dark-haired Langley sounded a bit like Loretta Lynn as she kicked off with Dandelion, a sweet song that revels in the summer mindset. The upbeat rockers I Gotta Quit, Bottom of Your Boots and Gretchen Wilson’s Here For The Party soon followed, with Langley encouraging everyone to sing along. “We are in a concert,” she said. “Don’t you forget that.”

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The Alabama native also revealed an emotional side with ballads like You and Me Time, Broken and Somethin’ Simple, relatable relationship songs that carried the high-lonesome sounds of pedal steel and mandolin.

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Throughout the jam-packed site, spirits were high and rowdiness was rampant. Moving through the bodies was like swimming upstream, a constant struggle, and fights kept breaking out at the beer tents. In the aisle at the main stage, security kept an eye out for people needing a quick exit out of the mayhem.

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Before that, one of the festival’s most head-spinning genre U-turns took place on the main stage as the prog-rock weirdness of Angine de Poitrine changed over to the breezy melodic fare of hitmaker Sheryl Crow.

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Angine de Poitrine performs during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday, July 17, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /POSTMEDIA

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Sheryl Crow performs during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday, July 17, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /POSTMEDIA

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With Ella’s Fellas outnumbering the polka dudes by about 10 to 1, Crow was the perfect bridge between two wildly disparate but hugely popular acts.

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The country-rock hitmaker wasted no time in jumping on the Angine fan bandwagon, too, declaring them to be her new favourite group after watching the show from backstage. She even promised to learn how to pronounce their name properly.

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Accompanied by her own top-notch band, Crow doled out a greatest-hits show, reminding folks of the depth of her catalogue. The solid-gold nuggets included My Favourite Mistake, If It Makes You Happy, Steve McQueen, First Cut is the Deepest, If It Makes You Happy, All I Wanna Do and more.

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At 64, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s voice rang strong and true, and she held her own on guitar and harmonica as the band rocked out behind her.

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Sheryl Crow performs during Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Friday, July 17, 2026. Photo by Spencer Colby /POSTMEDIA

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The sturdy melodies sailed over the throngs that were trying to eat a meal, find their friends and get settled for the main show. There was a big lawnchair section, the street was packed, the main bowl was impossible to get through and the two bleacher sections were full. Long lines formed at every food vendor, bar tent and porta-potty zone.