It’s a rare night at Bluesfest when day tickets are sold out in advance, but that was the case for Combs as an estimated 30,000 people turned out to see the 32-year-old Nashville star.

RBC Ottawa Bluesfest hit a peak not seen since pre-pandemic times as a stretch of fine weather and top-rated acts made LeBreton Flats Park the place to be over the weekend. 

Ottawa-born superstar Alanis Morissette was scheduled to entertain a hometown crowd in her first Bluesfest appearance on Sunday, and Jack Johnson won us over with his mellow charm on Friday, but it was Luke Combs’ Saturday night blowout that sent the festival over the top in terms of attendance and beer sales. 

It’s a rare night at Bluesfest when day tickets are sold out in advance, but that was the case for Combs as an estimated 30,000 people turned out to see the 32-year-old Nashville star light up the grounds of the Canadian War Museum, his first show in the nation’s capital. It was the biggest Bluesfest crowd since the Foo Fighters pulled in almost 40,000 in 2018. 

Back then, the challenge of moving through the packed plaza and waiting in line for beer, food and porta potties was an annoyance, but this time it was all part of the fun we didn’t get to have during the pandemic lockdowns. Even the patrons who reported waiting more than 45 minutes to get a beer on Saturday took it in stride, just happy to be back at a festival. 

Backed by his ace band, Combs was in good spirits, too, kicking the night off with 1, 2 Many, an ode to over-indulging that saw him shotgun a beer at the appropriate line in the song. “Y’all ready to party?” he asked a bit later in his North Carolina drawl, “because that’s what we’re about to do.” 

Sure enough, it was an epic party for a crowd in which cowboy hats outnumbered face masks by about 200 to one, despite the latest public-health advice recommending masks. It was also a landmark night for alcohol consumption, according to festival boss Mark Monahan, who ballparked it as one of the top five beer-selling nights in the festival’s 28-year history. 

But in between the fist-pumping and beer-swilling were moments of genuine connection, like when Combs’ irresistibly rich baritone embraced heartfelt ballads such as She Got The Best of Me, The Kind of Love We Make and Houston, We Got A Problem, prompting everyone to sing along.

More than once, the husky singer-songwriter surveyed the vast crowd of smiling faces and seemed to pinch himself, casting back to the day he arrived in Nashville at the tender age of 23 hoping to make a name for himself. Never in a million years, he said, did he imagine himself on a stage in another country singing in front of so many people. 

“Without you, there is no show,” he declared during a round of thank yous, emphasizing the importance of fans. “You are the most important thing.”

Combs’ feel-good performance capped off an eclectic evening of programming that also featured an amazing, intense and highly energetic show by worldbeat king Femi Kuti, son of legendary Fela Kuti, on the SiriusXM stage, along with a treat for blues fans on the picturesque River stage. 

That rootsy extravaganza was anchored by the terrific guitar work of Canadian blues-rocker Colin James, who was flanked by two Ottawa lads, Steve Marriner on bass and Anders Drerup on rhythm guitar, plus drums, keyboards and the Texas Horns, the festival’s resident horn section from Austin, Texas. The jam apparently continued into the wee hours at the Rainbow Bistro’s after-party. 

One change in the festival’s programming this year has the music starting at 6 p.m. on weekends instead of earlier in the afternoon, an adjustment that Monahan said was part of an effort to keep things simple in case of pandemic-related cancellations. Gates open at 5 p.m. each day (except Monday, which is a day off).

As for the slow bar service, Monahan says part of the problem stemmed from the number of newly recruited volunteers who had to learn their jobs quickly. A last-minute push for volunteers last week left little time for training. 

“It was partly a function of numbers and just being rusty in some cases,” he said, adding that staff are working on streamlining the process. “Yes, it took longer to get a beer, but you can see the servers are working hard. We had 15 beer stations open on Saturday, and people did get their beer, believe me.”

Perhaps the best-run aspect of the festival is the free bicycle lockup, east of the museum, where volunteers can accommodate up to 1,200 bicycles in a secure area. In my experience, whether arriving or departing, it was so well organized that there was never a lineup of more than two or three bikes. After the LRT power outage on Saturday night closed Pimisi station and forced people to walk to Lyon station, bicycling is clearly the best way to travel to the festival. 

Following a day off on Monday, the festival continues until July 17, with a roster of weekday headliners that includes DJ Marshmello and soulman Michael Franti on Tuesday, rockers Alexisonfire and Sum 41 on Wednesday and another country star, Luke Bryan, on Thursday. 

For updates and information, go to ottawabluesfest.ca. 

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