Ottawa Bluesfest: Nickelback, Neil Young, Motley Crue and Maroon 5 headline Ottawa festival

The full 2024 Bluesfest lineup has been released, with headliners such as Nickelback, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Maroon 5 and 50 Cent joining the previously announced Mötley Crüe.

Ottawa Bluesfest is celebrating its 30th year with a “star-studded lineup worthy of the occasion,” organizers say.

Other headliners on the RBC Stage include Mother Mother, Zac Brown Band, Tyler Childers, and Nas.

“Being the 30th, we knew it had to be big, but really, we tried to deliver what people expect, which is international-caliber talent along with a whole bunch of other diverse artists,” Bluesfest executive and artistic director Mark Monahan told CTV News Ottawa.

The festival will run from July 4 to 14.

A one-day ticket presale starts Friday at 10 a.m. The full on sale date is Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.

Tickets are available at www.ottawabluesfest.frontgatetickets.com

Maroon 5, Neil Young big gets

Monahan says Maroon 5 is a big win for the festival.

“Just an iconic band, they’ve announced a Vegas residency, just an act that’s never played Ottawa and these are the kinds of acts the festival tries to seek out to give the fans of Ottawa that experience,” he said.

Maroon 5 was scheduled to play at the Canadian Tire Centre in August of 2022, but cancelled several Canadian tour dates that year.

Neil Young is also an act Monahan said was a big act to see.

“Huge, iconic Canadian artist, never played the festival, has not played Ottawa in many, many years,” he said.

Bluesfest executive and artistic director Mark Monahan speaks to CTV News Ottawa.

40 local acts

Monahan said even if the headline acts don’t appeal to someone, there is a wide range of talented artists set to play, including more than three dozen bands from Ottawa.

“There’s 40 local bands on the bill and honestly, one third of the whole lineup is local bands. We have over 600 submissions from local acts every year, so really there’s phenomenal talent on the bill that’s not playing at nine o’clock,” he said.

“Plus, a whole host of diverse acts like Noah Cyrus, Future Islands, Chelsea Cutler, these are all acts that are not headlining but could be headliners in their own right.”

2024 Ottawa Bluesfest Lineup

July 4: Mother Mother; Orville Peck; Tokyo Police Club; Leith Ross; The Dip, Priyanka; Campbell & Johnston; Country Club Pool Boy; Funeral Lakes; LH Express; OK Naledi; Sandra Bouza; MELO-T

July 5: Nickelback; Warren Zeiders; Noah Cyrus; Ziggy Alberts; Bywater Call; Aleksi Campagne; Danielle Allard; Jaclyn Kenyon; May Davis; Mia Kelly; The Artichoke Hearts; MELO-T

July 6: 50 Cent; Mt. Joy; Killer Mike; Shred Kelly; Etran De L’Aïr; Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers; City Fidelia; Hopper; Lynne Hanson; Nice On; Turbo Street Funk; MELO-T

July 7: Maroon 5; Future Islands; Chelsea Cutler; Pokey LaFarge; Blue Moon Marquee; Hussy Hicks; ALAMUSIC; Cinzia & The Eclipse; Brooke Blackburn; FOG Blues & Brass Band

July 10: Zac Brown Band; Charley Crockett; Matthew Good; Medicine Singers ft. Lee Ranaldo, Yonatan Gat & Zoon; Texas King; Jon Muq; Nicolette & The Nobodies; Caroline Jones; Blackburn Brothers; ALAMUSIC; Murray Kinsley & Wicked Grin; Yarro

July 11: Neil Young Crazy Horse; Josh Ross; Corb Lund; Steph Strings; Chambers DesLauriers; ALAMUSIC; Alexa Goldie; Jessica Pearson and The East Wind; John Allaire and The Campistas; Kaya Fraser; Merle Marlow Band

July 12: Tyler Childers; Bahamas; TALK; Jerry Portnoy; Bombino; Annie Raines & Paul Rishell; Brittany Kennell; Empress Nyiringango; Raphael Weinroth-Browne; summersets; Wild Remedy; DJ Eazy EL Dee

July 13: Mötley Crüe; The Tea Party; JJ Wilde; Garret T. Willie; TJ Wheeler; Sean Pinchin; Tony D Band; Blues Harp Blow-Off; DJ Eazy EL Dee

July 14: Nas; Ben Howard; Geneviève Racette; Le Winston Band; JW Jones; DJ Eazy EL Dee