Headliner The Beaches start 30th anniversary of CityFolk off right
Ottawa’s CityFolk Festival kicked off on Wednesday, September 11th with the Canadian rock band The Beaches headlining the event. Fresh off the European leg of their Blame My Ex tour, the Toronto-born group shared their excitement and relief to be back in their home country playing for their Canadian fans – “We missed playing in the best country in the world!” stated lead singer Jordan Miller.
Thousands of people gathered on the Great Lawn to watch their set. It started off energetically with the band’s recent hit single “Takes One to Know One.” The single has also recently reached #1 on the Alternative Rock Charts in Canada, their eighth song to do so.
Of the 17 songs played during their festival appearance, The Beaches were sure to appeal to fans new and old by reaching across their discography and performing songs from some of their lesser-known EPs alongside their radio hits. The crowd was up and dancing for songs like “My Body ft Your Lips,” “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid,” and of course, “Blame My Ex” while swaying and singing along to more emotional renditions of “If a Tree Falls” and “Cigarette.”
The four girls that make up the band were also great at working the crowd and sharing anecdotes between songs. They spoke in particular about their very first “we made it moment” that happened here in Ottawa almost 10 years ago. The Beaches were performing for a small crowd in House of Targ on Bank Street when they felt that their music was starting to get recognized, and true fans were showing up to their gigs.
This special connection to Ottawa as “where it all began” drew an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd. Live shows often come with the joint experience of learning more about the artists and their art, which can only be experienced by coming out and attending festivals and events for yourself!
The final two, highly anticipated songs were also prefaced with a personal anecdote shared by Leandra Earl (keys and guitar). She shared with fans that she had been broken up with the day before and that this show has been one of the most difficult ones she has ever played, endearing herself to the crowd and drumming up even more anticipation for “Edge of the Earth.” The song was written by her and is one of The Beaches’ queer anthems so loved by their fans.
The Beaches played for an an hour and fifteen minutes, ending their set with “Blame My Ex” followed by an Encore performance of “T-Shirt,” their very first song to make it to #1 on the Alternative Rock Charts and a fan favourite.
Ottawa’s CityFolk Festival, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, ran from September 11th to 15th at the Great Lawn in Lansdowne Park.
