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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.
Festival watch: What are the 2024 Ottawa festivals?
Feb. 1-19: Winterlude, various locations. canada.ca
Feb. 2-19: Beavertails Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival, free concert series, Rainbow Bistro. therainbow.ca
May 1-27: Korea Week, various locations. canada.korean-culture.org.
May 2-5: Ottawa International Writers Festival, Library and Archives Canada. writersfestival.org
May 10-14: Ottawa Children’s Festival, LeBreton Flats Park and other locations. ottawachildrensfestival.ca
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May 10-20: Canadian Tulip Festival, Commissioners Park, Dow’s Lake. tulipfestival.ca
June 6-16: Italian Week Ottawa, Little Italy/Preston Street area. italianweekottawa.ca
June 21-30: Ottawa Jazz Festival, Confederation Park. ottawajazzfestival.com
June 21-23: Escapade Music Festival, Lansdowne Park. escapademf.com
June 21-23: Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival, Mooney’s Bay Park. dragonboat.net
July 4-17: Music and Beyond, various locations. musicandbeyond.ca
July 4-14: Ottawa Bluesfest, LeBreton Flats Park. ottawabluesfest.ca
July 25-Aug. 8: Chamberfest, Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre and other locations. chamberfest.com
Aug. 21-25: Nostalgia Music Festival, LeBreton Flats Park. nostalgiafestival.ca
Sept. 11-15: CityFolk, Great Lawn, Lansdowne Park. cityfolkfestival.com
What shows are coming to Ottawa Winter 2024?
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
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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
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
Feb. 16: Ikky, Algonquin Commons Theatre. ticketmaster.ca
Feb. 21: Strumbellas, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
Feb. 22: Brett Kissel, Algonquin Commons Theatre. ticketmaster.ca
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Feb. 22: Charlotte Cardin, 2nd show, TD Place. ticketmaster.ca
Feb. 23: Shawn Desman, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
Feb. 23: City and Colour, with Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Canadian Tire Centre. ticketmaster.ca
Feb. 24: The Trews, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
Feb. 25: Night Lovell, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. eventbrite.ca
Feb. 27: Aaron Pritchett, Algonquin Commons Theatre. ticketmaster.ca
Feb. 28: Chase Rice, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. ticketweb.ca
Shows and music to see in Ottawa, Spring 2024
March 1: John Smith and Miranda Mulholland, Red Bird Live. redbirdlive.ca
March 8: JP. Saxe, Justin Nozuka. Algonquin Commons Theatre. ticketmaster.ca
March 8: Gwar, Age of Befuddlement Tour, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. ticketweb.ca
March 9: Rural Alberta Advantage, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. ticketweb.ca
March 10: Taj Mahal & Sona Jobarteh, NAC. nac-cna.ca
March 13: Alan Doyle, with Adam Baldwin. NAC. ticketmaster.ca
March 13: Cherish The Ladies, Irish music, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
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March 14: Allison Russell with Aysanabee, NAC. nac-cna.ca
March 15: Lisa LeBlanc with NAC Orchestra, NAC. nac-cna.ca
March 16: Corb Lund, with 49 Winchester. Algonquin Commons Theatre. ticketmaster.ca
March 22: Jeremie Albino, with Benjamin Dakota Rogers. Club SAW. ticketweb.ca
March 22: Roch Voisine, NAC. nac-cna.ca
March 23: Less Than Jake, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
March 26: Tegan and Sara, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
March 29: Big Sugar, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
March 30: Skydiggers with Paul Langlois, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
March 30: Colin Linden, Red Bird Live. redbirdlive.ca
April 7: Bowling For Soup, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
April 9: Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
April 9: Noah Kahan, Canadian Tire Centre. ticketmaster.ca
April 12: Queens of the Stone Age, Canadian Tire Centre. ticketmaster.ca
April 16: The Stampeders, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
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April 20: TALK, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
April 25: Kiran Ahluwalia, Shenkman Arts Centre. shenkmanarts.ca
April 25: Vanessa Collier, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
April 26: Cooper Brothers’ 50th Anniversary, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
April 29: Close Talker, Postdata, Club SAW. ticketweb.ca
May 2: Glenn Miller Orchestra, NAC. nac-cna.ca
May 2: Michael Hanna, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
May 3: Tim McGraw, Canadian Tire Centre. ticketmaster.ca
May 4: Ice Cube, TD Place. ticketmaster.ca
May 4: Walk Off The Earth, NAC, Southam Hall. nac-cna.ca
May 7: Kathy Griffin, My Life on the PTSD List, Meridian Centrepointe Theatre. meridiancentrepointe.com
May 9: Scorpions’ Uli Jon Roth, Overflow Brewing Company. eventbrite.ca
May 18: Cole Swindell, Canadian Tire Centre. ticketmaster.ca
May 24: The Longest Johns, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. ticketweb.ca
May 25: Daniel Champagne, Red Bird Live. redbirdlive.ca
May 25: Nana Mouskouri, Théâtre du Casino Lac-Leamy, Gatineau. ticketmaster.ca
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May 31: Bruce Cockburn, Southam Hall, NAC. nac-cna.ca
Summer concerts coming to Ottawa in 2024
June 1: Good Kid, Bronson Centre Music Theatre. bronsoncentremusictheatre.com
June 6: Magic Men Australia, Shenkman Arts Centre. shenkmanarts.ca
June 13: Ian Thomas, Meridian Centrepointe. meridiancentrepointe.com
June 28: Laufey, Ottawa Jazz Festival. Confederation Park. ottawajazzfestival.com
July 12: Tyler Childers, Ottawa Bluesfest. ottawabluesfest.ca
July 12: TALK, Ottawa Bluesfest. ottawabluesfest.ca
July 13: Mötley Crüe, Ottawa Bluesfest. ottawabluesfest.ca
July 25-27: Pub Royal, musical comedy from Cowboy Fringants, NAC. ticketmaster.ca
Fall concerts to see in Ottawa, 2024
Oct. 6: Jordan Davis, with Mitchell Tenpenny and Ashley Cooke, Canadian Tire Centre. ticketmaster.ca
Nov. 9: Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Canadian Tire Centre. ticketmaster.ca
Know of a live music show that’s not on this list? Send an email with the event date, time, location and description to contenteds@ottawacitizen.com.
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