RBC Bluesfest 2014: International Acts

If you have a craving for International Cuisine, Bluesfest has a few options. Thai, Jamaican and Greek. Having done some traveling, the authenticity of the Greek food is questionable but at least they have a gluten-free option of Greek Salad. That being said, this food was a saving grace considering that most people rush home from work to go to the festival. As much as I tried to cook for myself and bring snacks, wanting to see all the shows I wanted to actually became quite tough.. not in my early 20s anymore I guess. I love Bluesfest because I get to run into friends every night. Overall, I had a blast. Saw some amazing and nostalgic bands and there was never a dull moment.

Photos by: Luca Fiore at Dan Rascal

Violent Femmes

St Vincent (Best performance at Bluesfest, IMO)

What the..?

Gogol Bordello

Blondie, photos by: Sean Criger

Until next year, Bluesfest! What was your favourite act this year? Let us know in the comments!

RBC Bluesfest 2014: We Saw and We Ate.. Local?

Hey ya'll. I'm writing this as two lovely locals (Jamboree Guest Atherton and Sound of Lions) grace us with their musical stylings. This past week Dan Rascal took photos of Punk-Rockers Average Times and Jamboree Guests Ukrania!

Since I started Eva Bee's Jamboree, people would often ask me why I decided to combine local food and music in a cooking show. Well, music and food have many things in common..

1) They set the tone of an evening.. either enhancing or clashing horrifically with the celebration or event in hand. 2) They both require an intuitive ingenuity to really be something special. Technical training to execute a master piece of classical music cannot go unnoticed, but a real unique and truly amazing experience of music or food is ultimately done by someone who pushes the boundaries incorporating technical training, spontaneity and intuition of how to please the audience. 3) Teaching someone to cook shouldn't be a stuffy experience. Or a sport. Or in food-porn. It should be made fun and accessible. We all need to eat so why not teach someone how to make something delicious and have some music on the side and show that even they can cook ;)

Now, why local?

Without going trying to be too obvious or preachy, all I'll say is that people are craving more and more to have delicious, nourishing food. Did you know that the indie movement is so strong that large corporations are modelling their businesses around those trends? For example.. check out how many mass produced food items say 'Natural' on them but are just the same as before?

When we bite into a nice juicy Hintonburger (River Stage at Bluesfest) we know that the 100% local beef patty is healthier, but more importantly tastes better, than McDonalds. However, cost becomes an issue.

Especially as a food vendor at Bluesfest. I know from friends who have sold food there, it's an enormous cost to be there. Unfortunately, the first thing that usually gets pinched when in a food business is the quality of ingredients. Hearing that Hintonburger charges $3 more for a smaller burger may be the only way to survive as a local foods vendor without using meat that comes from who-knows-whose-cows.

I have to give it to Jamie's Cracked Corn for being GMO free and Organic. And snack-tastic.

At least Poutine is a Canadian dish..??

I don't get the feeling that there are very many food vendors that provide locally farmed food. The fact that Molson Canadian presumably has an exclusivity contract on the festival feels like a giant step backward. A friend, who is also a local musician, said it best that 'God forbid an Ottawa festival support a locally brewed product'. Many people miss Mill Street beer and reluctantly go for one of the bigger beer options.

How do you feel about the changes in beer? Leave a comment below or share this post if you want to make a change!