Last year, I split Bluesfest up by days. This year, I made a blog entry about a walk around the festival grounds before, during, and after the festival. This blog entry goes over all the days of Bluesfest.
This year's Bluesfest was packed. I was happy to get my tickets in time for it. There were certain shows it was shoulder-to-shoulder throughout the whole venue.
Now, I popped in and out a ton during the event, so hopefully my pictures tell a better story than me. My friends were hanging at other spots and I did some exploring in the meantime. I stayed at an AirBnB on Peter Street so I had about a 1mi (1.6km) walk each day to the venue. The funny thing is I could hear Bluesfest the whole way on my walk.
Besides Thursday night when my buddy Ryan acted as a designated driver, I walked this route back each night. I definitely got my exercise while visiting Thunder Bay! The first day of Bluesfest, I started my walk to Marina Park where Bluesfest is located. It was warm for Canadian standards.
The lines were pretty long!
It took a bit, but I got my wristband and went inside.
I decided to get some deep fried mac and cheese and start listening to the music. I also bought a beer or two. I do remember the first singer sounding a lot like Janis Joplin. As the festival went on, it seemed doing Janis's covers were very popular. The other bands were kind of a blur. Sitting in the back, some of them became background music as I hung out with my friends.
I did remember Melissa Etheridge's performance. She nailed it. She's a great guitar player and her vocals sounded really good. You know someone is talented when they sound just as good live as on the radio.
Day two's headliner was Sarah McLachlan with Sheryl Crow opening for her. This confused me, but this is where I can tell I'm an American. Sarah is Canadian and was huge in Canada. A lot of the people in the group I hung with said she was their high school soundtrack. In the US, she's associated with the adopting a dog TV commercials.
Sheryl Crow was much bigger in the US. I would say both put on good shows, except Sarah McLachlan was very quiet. It was very hard to actually hear back by the picnic tables and beer tent where I was hanging out. The other opener bands were also good.
Day three was the last day. Pat Benatar was the headliner I was most excited about. Out of the openers, I do remember Alan Doyle putting on a great show. His Celtic sound was very unique. Mary Bridget Davies also did a great Janis Joplin cover.
The storms made a cool sunset with some colors in it. By the end of the night, it was humid and I could see my breath at 66F (19C)!
I had a great time at Bluesfest this year. For me it's an awesome venue to hang out with friends and meet new friends. I even got to talk to some of my readers. I have a feeling I'll be back again!