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| Quartet Live at Ottawa Bluesfest Multi-platinum rock quartet Live will be a headliner for this year's Ottawa Bluesfest. This comes on the heels of Epic Records recent release of Live's new studio album, Songs From Black Mountain. Bluesfest's Main Stage in Festival Plaza will feature Live on Wednesday, July 12. With their contagious melodies, Live's signature mix of anthemic rockers, dynamic arrangements and spiritually aware lyrics continues to grow. The multi-platinum band recorded all 12 cuts on Songs From Black Mountain in a frenetic burst of creativity that surprised everyone. "We haven't recorded that quickly since Throwing Copper, " says Live's lead singer, Ed Kowalczyk. "When we got in the studio, we all slipped into the zone. Everyone was awestruck by not only how fast we were recording, but also by how good it sounded." Bluesfest fans will now be able to experience just how good that sound is at this summer's Ottawa Bluesfest. Also confirmed to appear at Bluesfest is Barbadian beauty, 17-year-old Rihanna: she'll be headlining on the Main Stage on July 14. Even after winning her school's beauty and talent pageant, Rihanna never realized how talented she really was until she attracted the attention of a New York City music producer named Evan Rogers. (Evan and his partner, Carl Sturken, have produced hits for such artists as Christina Aguilera, Ruben Studdard and Kelly Clarkson.) Rihanna, Evan and Carl ended up creating close to a dozen songs. Together they pulled inspiration from the dancehall and reggae that are embedded in Rihanna's rich musical culture and fused it with a fresh R&B soul sound—a mixture Rihanna likes to compare to one of her favourite Caribbean dishes, callaloo. "It's like a gumbo or a stew, " explains Rihanna. "My music is mostly Caribbean beats mixed with R&B. The genre-defying MBNA Stage will now be the scene of an explosive 'Indie evening' featuring the music of Fiery Furnaces and Metric beginning on July 14. The Asylum Street Spankers will also be included on the MBNA Stage for a whimsical collision between ragtime, two-step parlour dances, jazz, vaudeville, off-colour blues, hip-hop swagger and country-western music. Elvis Perkins—son of Psycho star, Anthony Perkins—will perform on the MBNA Stage on July 8. Musically, Elvis Perkins and his band (Elvis Perkins in Dearland) may bring to mind Jeff Buckley, Colin Meloy or Rufus Wainwright sans drama, and even an early-70s Dylan. Another addition to the MBNA Stage is Jason Collett, who was a hit at last year's event. Since 2001, Collett has been considered the indispensable lynchpin of Toronto's booming indie scene. He's been invited back to the festival by popular demand. Then there's James Hunter! Anyone who's seen or heard James Hunter perform is already hip to his remarkable talents as a singer, guitarist and songwriter. This includes Van Morrison who asserts, "James is one of the best voices, and best kept secrets, in British R & B and Soul." "We're getting great feedback on this year's line-up, " says the festival's executive director, Mark Monahan. "And, as in past years, we're always left with a little room to add a few final pieces to the puzzle between our initial program announcement and the actual event. We're very happy with the way things are going." write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |