2015 Ottawa CityFolk Festival

My September has been pretty hectic so far with little time to just relax and not think about work.  This past weekend, I attended the CityFolk Festival (previously known as the Ottawa Folk Festival - see last year's photos and blog post here), which provided me a few entertaining hours of folk music each day.  Below are photos from the bands that I want to see.

Les sœurs Boulay

I just love the beautiful music created by this sister duo even though my French is horrendous.  Their most popular song on YouTube is probably this song, check it out!

I filmed a few seconds of their performance of the song "Mappemonde".

Walk Off the Earth

Walk Off the Earth (WOTE) is probably one the most popular Canadian bands in recent years thanks to their creative rendition of the song "Someone That I Used to Know", i.e., five people playing on one guitar at the same time.  Check out the video on YouTube if you don't know what I am talking about.  The vibe this group gives off is very upbeat and suiting for an end-of-the summer music festival.

WOTE ended their show with the thing that made them popular in the first place.

Scarlett Jane

I have not heard of their music before this event, but their music is definitely something you want to check out if you enjoy country, blues, folk, etc.

The lighting during the performance was less than ideal so I turned these (and others) into black-and-white images.

Of Monsters and Men

Out of this year's line-up, Of Monsters and Men (OMAM) is the band I want to see.  This folk band is from Iceland, and I just love their sound and the nature-centered lyrics.  As expected, OMAM put on an amazing performance and it might be my all-time favourite (in the limited number of festivals that I have attended in recent years).

Lucius

I first heard of Lucius from their performance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert (see here).  Their music is nothing quite like what I have heard before, and the harmony between the two female lead singers is just wonderful.  Their performance here in Ottawa is just great, especially with the lead singers wearing yellow retro-futuristic dresses and sunglasses.

Passenger

The last musician I listened to at the festival was Passenger from UK.  Passenger is another musician that I really want to see and even though most of his music is mellow and sad, his story-telling ability and stage presence entertained the audience throughout the whole show (despite the fact that it was just him and his guitars on the stage).

I filmed the end of his Beautiful Birds performance. Check out this song on YouTube.

Once again, Ottawa's folk festival (last year and this year) has proven to be my favourite part about Ottawa.  Thanks, CityFolk and I can't wait for next year!