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Buckle up, live-music fans.
After making it through a full 12 months in which concerts were largely unaffected by COVID-19 lockdowns or masking requirements, 2024 has the potential to be a banner year.
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While Ottawa is considered a secondary market in the touring industry, the recent success of major acts such as alt-rockers Smashing Pumpkins, country bro Morgan Wallen and rock legend Peter Gabriel offered a strong indicator that things are ramping up after the widespread disruptions of the pandemic.
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Mind you, the threat of illness remains, and we lost a couple of high-profile shows to ailments in recent months. The KISS farewell concerts in Ottawa and Toronto were derailed at the last minute by a bad case of flu suffered by Paul Stanley, and are not likely to be rescheduled.
Bruce Springsteen, on the other hand, has already rescheduled his Canadian Tire Centre show for Nov. 9, 2024, after pulling the plug on the last stretch of 2023 dates to deal with peptic ulcer disease.
Of course, the live-music sector continues to face other challenges, too, including a shortage of skilled labour, a profusion of rising costs and a reluctance on the part of fans to buy tickets in advance. Plus, tickets are getting more expensive, and those dreaded ticket service fees aren’t helping.
Despite the lingering economic uncertainty, artists of all stripes are planning tours in 2024, and many of them have already announced plans to visit Ottawa.
The year gets off to a slow start in January, as usual, but February brings everyone from the Strumbellas and Charlotte Cardin to Shawn Desman and City and Colour. From there, the concertgoer’s calendar will get even busier, with major shows by Queens of the Stone Age, Noah Kahan and Tim McGraw headed to Canadian Tire Centre, along with acts like Gwar, Rural Alberta Advantage, Skydiggers and Less Than Jake making stops at Bronson Centre Music Theatre.
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What’s more, the new year marks the 30th anniversary of three major festivals: Bluesfest, Chamberfest, and CityFolk — which began its life as the Ottawa Folk Festival — all started in 1994, and celebrations are expected.
Full festival lineup announcements are still to come, but so far we know that Rustin’ in the Rain country singer Tyler Childers and veteran rockers Mötley Crüe are confirmed for Bluesfest, and jazz phenom Laufey will return to the Ottawa Jazz Festival.
To help you plan your year, here’s a look at some highlights on the live-music front, including a list of festivals.
Winter
Jan. 19: Sultans of String, with Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, Marc Merilainen, Shannon Thunderbird and more, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
Jan. 20: The Commotions, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
Jan 25: YAO, Shenkman Arts Centre. shenkmanarts.ca
Jan. 25: NoBro, Club SAW. ticketweb.ca
Jan. 26: Prime Rib Big Band, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
Jan. 27: Jamie Fine, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
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Jan. 28: Dan Bern, Live on Elgin. liveonelgin.com
Jan. 31-Feb. 10: Hip Hop Theatre Festival, various artists, NAC. nac-cna.ca
Feb. 3: Sam Roberts Band, with Grand Public. Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
Feb. 6: Charlotte Cardin, 99 Nights Tour, TD Place, ticketmaster.ca
Feb. 7: Sass Jordan. with Skye Wallace. Shenkman Arts Centre. shenkmanarts.ca
Feb. 9: William Prince with Kacy and Clayton, NAC. nac-cna.ca
Feb. 9-10: Gary Louris, Red Bird Live. redbirdlive.ca
Feb. 10: Jon Spencer, Club SAW. ticketweb.ca
Feb. 15: Lonesome Ace Stringband, Red Bird Live. redbirdlive.ca
Here are the least played songs live off every Slayer album.With a total of 12 studio albums and one EP to their name (just counting original material only, not the Diabolus in Musica covers album, though there is one original track on there), Slayer have had a lot of material to work with and, with so many hits and fan favorites, the setlists leave little wiggle room for some of the hidden gems and deep cuts.So often, a tour in support […]