FROM SMALL LOCAL ARTISTS TO RADIO HIT LEGENDS, CITYFOLK DAY FIVE’S ARTIST LINEUP IS ONE FOR THE BOOKS
CityFolk day five marks the end of Ottawa’s annual September festival, closing with exceptional hip-hop performances and a hint of alternative rock to keep audiences on their toes.
Minuscule:
Awaiting at the TD Plaza, the Niagara-based band Minuscule gave an a capella-esque, hip-hop and folk fusion that stopped concert-goers in their tracks. Minuscule’s harmonizing blew the crowd away as they performed songs like “Over You” and “Praying For War.” Although their name is Miniscule, they left a sizable impact on CityFolk’s last night.
J-Morris:
Amongst a group of family members and City-Folk goers, the rapper J. Morris started his set with a catchy beat and impressive rap flow at the Fasken stage. Born and raised in Ottawa, J. Morris performed a slough of pieces in his discography, including an a cappella-style song he wrote over 20 years ago.
During his set, he also invited “Ottawa hip-hop legends,” Nambi and Aspects, for a couple of songs, one being about the horrors of the gun-violence crisis in the West, harmonizing with the chorus and adding an acoustic guitar to the mix.
If his set is representative of the local hip-hop scene, then I’m excited to discover more.
Cam Kahin
Leaving J-Morris behind, Cam Kahin transformed the open arena of the TD stage into a concert in someone’s unfinished basement… and I loved it. From the first strum on his electric guitar, blasting its frequency through massive speakers to the colourful, flashing graphics displaying his name, his set caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
Intrigued individuals trickled down near the stage, curious to see what this 23-year-old artist from Toronto had in store. His alt-punk and indie-rock tunes had the audience headbanging and jumping to songs like “nicotine” and “whatever you want.”
As he announced his new album, CHUG, and played a few songs from it, he invited the audience to the merchandise stand to give him feedback. I appreciated Kahin’s openness to criticism. That attitude alone conveyed a desire to improve, which is crucial in any art discipline. Don’t be surprised if you find his name on your playlists in a few years, if not months.
Blakdemin
At the Fasken stage, another local musical number was awaiting me. I wasn’t familiar with this band, so my main expectation was to enjoy the show. Not only did I enjoy the set, but I also found myself dancing to the jazz-y tunes of the brass instruments, the angelic choruses of the female vocalist, and the infectious flow of the emcee from the first song, “Summer Lane.” Impressed doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of how I felt at that moment.
And to top it off, their set had interactive segments, where the crowd got the opportunity to sing songs like “Hold Up, Hold On” and “WTFU.” I won’t lie, the chant from the latter song, “Blakdemin, one word, no C, what,” used in a song has not left my brain since, and I’m okay with that. Their live shows rivalled their studio recordings, and I would encourage anyone, fan or not yet acquainted, to attend their performances at least once.
USS
Back at the TD stage, USS, a duo, had a mission to lift the spirits of their large audience. With a guitar, a turntable and two microphones, the group stormed the stage with a fiery attitude, saying “it’s Sunday night, but we don’t care,” successfully turning the TD stage into a nightclub. Both members of the band gave their set all they had in both the musical and physical departments, with Jason Parsons, doing cartwheels, flailing down and kicking his feet in the air, and Ash Buchholz, with his guitar in hand, flailing his legs in every direction. From “Anti-Venom” to “Freakquency,” the audience loved every second of it.
Tobi
Now, one of my favourite sub-genres of music is conscious hip-hop. When I saw that Tobi, the Nigerian-Canadian rapper and singer, was gracing the Fasken stage with his lyrically poignant songs like “Life Is A Jungle,” thrilled wasn’t enough to express my excitement.
Tobi started his set with the questions, “Do you promise to move and to dance,” as well as “Do y’all promise to live.” Looking back at the performance, I believe that the crowd did keep that promise. The audience was transported through various aspects of his life, from his Nigerian influences found in his Afro-beat inspired songs, to his experiences in appreciating the present moment.
If you have never heard of Tobi, I would implore you to check out his discography.
Down With Webster
As I walked to the TD stage for CityFolk 2025’s last performance, the audience was preparing themselves to sing, dance and jump to the beloved Toronto-based rap rock band, Down With Webster. The set started with an electric entrance, after a message over the Canadian National Anthem, each member coming on stage one by one, in order of when they appeared in the song “One in a Million.” The guys were ecstatic to be back in their nation’s capital since their last performance at Bluesfest 2024, especially with it being their last show from their tour. And they made this show count.
They took their dedicated fans, as well as new listeners, down memory lane with songs like “Rich Girl,” some new releases like “Okea,” as well as cool renditions of “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys, and “Hot in Here” by Nelly.
Their energy remained high throughout their entire set, with most members running across the stage multiple times for each song, throwing red solo cups, gifting t-shirts to fans, and even chucking ready-to-eat pizza onto the crowd below. Every gimmick Down With Webster threw at the audience, the crowd accepted with open arms. Down With Webster ended their show with two of their most popular songs, “Chills” and “Your Man,” leaving the audience roaring and clapping for their memorable performance.
And with that, Ottawa’s annual CityFolk festival came to a satisfying close, as the crowd’s spirits were lifted, ready to tackle the work week ahead of them.
