OTTAWA, (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Ottawa's largest music festival took another giant step towards staking out a claim as Canada's largest, most diverse musical celebration when it wrapped up twelve days of programming that attracted in excess of 300,000 people. Over 200 acts from across Canada and around the world played on five stages surrounding the world-class Canadian War Museum. Headline acts like Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, the White Stripes, Manu Chao and Kanye West electrified massive audiences that packed the site along the picturesque Ottawa River. Gross gate receipts for the event totaled nearly $5.5 million.
"When we booked acts like Ray Charles and Sting back in 1998 and 2000, we took big leaps forward, but now we've taken it to another level altogether!" exclaimed Bluesfest Executive and Artistic Director Mark Monahan. "We successfully moved to a brand new site, shattered our previous attendance record of 250,000, and delivered some of the best concerts the city will see this year. So everyone is going home happy – audience members and artists alike!"
The press was very positive as well. Complimenting the range of acts at this year's event, Globe and Mail music writer Brad Wheeler had this to say about the 2007 line-up: "A festival schedule of main acts that includes Bob Dylan, the White Stripes, Leo Kottke, Kanye West, Buddy Guy, Metric and Robert Cray should at least raise an eyebrow or two, if not blow some minds out. But not for me, because there's nothing that Ottawa Bluesfest could present on stage anymore – short of Elvis Presley and Harry Houdini – that could surprise me. They've raised the bar this year, and they'll do it again next year. Bet on it." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
