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Concerts

Ottawa Bluesfest Gets Shania Twain, Hozier, Turnstile, Kaytranada For 2025 Edition

One of Canada's biggest summer festivals will return to Lebreton Flats from July 10-20 this summer, with Lainey Wilson, Sean Paul, Def Leppard, Papa Roach and Green Day also headlining.

Hozier

Hozier

3_Barry McCall

Ottawa Bluesfest is bringing Canada's queen of country to the nation's capital.

Shania Twain will take the stage on July 13, one of the festival's seven headliners. Another country star, Lainey Wilson, will close out the first night of the festival, and legacy bands Green Day, Papa Roach and Def Leppard will bring some rowdy nostalgia to their sets.


Dancehall star Sean Paul, Montreal producer Kaytranada, Irish singer Hozier and Baltimore hardcore heroes Turnstile round out the list of headliners, making for an eclectic lineup with something for music fans of all kinds.

The festival returns to Lebreton Flats July 10-20.

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This year's lineup is looking a little less male-dominated — last year, the only headlining act fronted in part by women was Mother Mother — with The Linda Lindas set to support Green Day and Charlotte Day Wilson appearing before Hozier. (Per Book More Women, the 2024 lineup was 76% men and 24% women).

Also slated to perform are '90s alt-rock legends Pixies, Montreal dream poppers Men I Trust, Grammy-nominated blues artist Sue Foley, Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello and Hey Rosetta!'s Tim Baker. The Dead South, whose Danny Kenyon has faced allegations of sexual assault, will perform July 11.

Some of those headliners will also be making trips out east this year. Hozier is headlining PEI's Sommo Festival, while Lainey Wilson and Shania Twain are performing at Cavendish Beach Festival (both produced by Whitecap Entertainment).

Check out the full lineup below. Pre-sale starts Wednesday, February 26.

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Music News Digest: CRTC Aims To Fill a Gap for Indigenous Radio in Toronto and Ottawa
Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash
FYI

Music News Digest: CRTC Aims To Fill a Gap for Indigenous Radio in Toronto and Ottawa

Also this week: Sled Island reveals initial lineup curated by clipping., Truro hosts Nova Scotia Music Week and more.

The CRTC recently launched a call for applications for FM radio stations to serve Indigenous communities in Toronto and Ottawa. Broadcast Dialogue reports "the call follows the demise of First Peoples Radio’s ELMNT FM stations, which went off the air on Sept. 1 last year. Launched in the fall of 2018, the stations had a goal to 'fill the gap' for urban Indigenous listeners under-represented in the radio landscape. They carried an 'Indigenous-variety' format, featuring both English and Indigenous-language spoken-word and musical programming, with 25% of the playlist dedicated to Indigenous talent.

In its call, the commission says in its view, "there is a need and a demand for radio stations to serve the needs and interests of those communities."

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