Bluesfest: Friday
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Each day during Bluesfest, the Ottawa Sun will profile three acts. Full lineup is below.
CONOR OBERST
Main Stage, 7 p.m.
Anointed by Rolling Stone "the newest of the New Dylans," Conor Oberst became a force in the heartland America alt-folk revival, originally conceiving Bright Eyes in 1995 as a solo extension of his numerous Nebraska-based projects.
After a decade of recording in his family's basement and releasing the collections on his homegrown Saddle Creek Records imprint — the label is still fertile ground of the "Omaha sound" — Oberst hit it big with the simultaneous release of the folk-oriented I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and its electro-tinged cousin, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, both released on the same day in January, 2005.
Oberst enjoyed a banner year in 2008, releasing his self-titled solo effort Ñ recorded while on a brief sojourn in rural Mexico — touring the world with headlining spots at major festivals, and being named the songwriter of the year by Rolling Stone.
After a stint fronting the ragged Mystic Valley Band, Oberst hooked up with fellow nouveau folkies M. Ward and Jim James of My Morning Jacket — both played rousing sets at last year's Bluesfest — as one of the Monsters of Folk.
Oberst revived Bright Eyes in 2011 (and headlined Ottawa's Folkfest) with The People's Key — supposedly the band's swan song — to mixed reviews.
NME praised Oberst for going "where no wobble-voiced, therapy-scarred Nebraskan psych-poet has gone before," while Pitchfork dismissed the effort as "a wildly spiritual record without any spirit."
DAVID GRAY
Claridge Stage, 8 p.m.
English songsmith David Gray found a kindred spirit in Dave Matthews, the sandal-clad white bread soul jammer, who helped Gray's White Ladder break through as the first release on his fledgling ATO Records.
The album had already been on the U.K. charts for two years, but with Matthews' backing, the single Babylon — still Gray's best-known and best-loved song — rocketed up the charts and propelled White Ladder all the way up to No. 1.
The album spent 151 weeks on the British charts and vaulted Gray from the coffeehouses to the big time. It is still the top-selling album of all time in Ireland.
What was old turned suddenly to gold for Gray as his next two releases — a 2001 repackaging of Gray's earlier commercial flops — made it into the Top 20.
Nominated in 2002 for a Best New Artist Grammy (he lost to Alicia Keys), Gray followed up with A New Day at Midnight and 2005's Life in Slow Motion, but despite debuting at the top of the UK charts, neither resonated with fans the way White Ladder had.
The trappings of his newfound pop fame began to show signs of wear, and Gray acknowledged the "creative spark" that fuelled White Ladder "was sort of gone."
Gray took a four-year hiatus from the studio — cobbling old tracks for another "early years" compilation and releasing a Greatest Hits package in the meantime — before returning with a new band with Draw the Line, featuring duets with Jolie Holland and Annie Lennox, and Foundling, drawn from the same 2009 sessions.
CITY AND COLOUR
Main Stage, 9:30 p.m.
A founding member of St. Catharines post-hardcore rockers Alexisonfire, Dallas Green (city and colour, get it?) sounded the group's death knell when he announced his departure after wrapping up a tour in their hometown in 2010.
And what a departure it was.
City and Colour, originally launched as a solo acoustic side project, took on a life of its own and transplanted Green from the bright lights of headbanging arenas to the solitary spotlight of theatres and concert halls.
Last year's Little Hell finds Green at the height of his songwriting prowess, darkly melodious, melancholy and fragile, with an innate sense of seeing the beauty in tragedy.
"I view writing as a very cathartic experience," says Green. "It's my way of coping with or processing things happening, whether they're positive or not, and I think people can often identify with how they're interpreted."
THE FULL LINE-UP
Main Stage
7 p.m. — Conor Oberst
9:30 p.m. — City and Colour
Claridge Homes Stage
6 p.m. — Freelance Whales
8:15 p.m. — David Gray
River Stage
6:15 p.m. — Kalle Mattson
7:45 p.m. — Arkells
9:30 p.m. — Sleigh Bells
Electro Stage
6:15 p.m. — Kid SL
7:45 p.m. — !!!
9:15 p.m. — Tommy Lee and DJ Aera
Black Sheep Stage
6 p.m. — Winchester Warm
7:30 p.m. — Lake Street Dive
9:15 p.m. — Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires
Barney Danson Theatre
7 & 9 p.m. — Just for Laughs, Ari Shaffir, Paula Bel
Casino Lac Leamy
12 p.m. — Terry Gillespie
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