OTTAWA, Ontario (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — With the addition of the new Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest ByWard location, the Ottawa Bluesfest drew more than 350,000 music fans over the past 12 days. Headliners, Kiss brought Bluesfest's largest crowd to date, and surprisingly large attendance was seen for 'fest regulars Blue Rodeo, Ben Harper, Sam Roberts, and Metric.
This year's event featured a typically eclectic lineup for the Bluesfest with artists including Stone Temple Pilots, Jeff Beck, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Dead Weather, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Ludacris.
The 12-day event was produced with the help of more than 5,000 volunteers and funding assistance from more than 70 corporate sponsors, the festival was a huge success.
This year was also the first time that the Bluesfest featured significant free outdoor programming with the support of the Canadian government's Marquee Tourism Events Program (MTEP) by successfully staging the inaugural Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest in the ByWard. Along with the free outdoor programming, the event included a late-night series in 11 indoor venues.
Featured acts on the outdoor main stage included George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Arrested Development, Lee Scratch Perry, and Broken Social Scene. In all, more than 70 performances were presented at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest ByWard.
"After a gruelling 12 days of fantastic music, fans and festival organizers should sleep well this week," says Bluesfest's executive and artistic director, Mark Monahan. "When our team returns after a well deserved rest, we'll start planning for the 2010 edition of the 'fest." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
