Ottawa Folk Fest Day 5: Some Kind of Wonderful!

With the clouds finally parting for the fifth and final day of the Ottawa Folk Fest, Hog’s Back Park was once again transformed into the place to be for music lovers to enjoy a wonderful fall afternoon.

The day began with a poignant homage to folk legend Pete Seeger, whom the world lost back in January of this year. The hour-long tribute focused on the man and his music with performances of Seeger’s best loved songs by members of Elephant Revival, Parsons Field, The Carper Family, Spencer Scharf and Fred Penner.

The remainder of the afternoon continued on with individual performances by the aforementioned folk artists spread across the park performing on various stages, along with various workshop sessions and free activates for the family.

As the sun began to set late in the afternoon, award winning Canadian Singer-songwriter Beatrice Martin, better known by her stage name ‘Coeur de Pirate’ kicked things off on the RavenLaw stage with her trademark energy on keyboard and vocals.

As evening approached, The Ottawa Folk Festival was honored to host a living legend, iconic Mississippi Blues man Matt “Guitar” Murphy. Best known for his work with Howlin’ Wolf and The Blues Brothers, he performed an intimate one-man set on the Hill Stage. Despite suffering a stroke back in 2003, he was still able to blaze through a set of intricate blues riffs, and standards. Often taking time out to interact with the crowd of adoring fans.

Following in the tradition of R&B greats the festival has welcomed in the past, 27-year old British soul singer Joss Stone took over the RavenLaw stage, with a set showcasing the soulful sounds of her early Motown influences. Despite the cold, she performed barefoot, as is her trademark, taking time out between songs to flirt with the crowd, before engaging them once again with her incredible vocal range.

The Folk Fest closed out the 2014 edition with the Eh! main-stage performance by Canada’s own “Hey Rosetta!” Who were called up to fill the headline slot for the evening at a moment’s notice upon a last minute cancellation by New Jersey band Gaslight Anthem.

All in all, the Ottawa Folk Fest has once again proven itself as the region’s most anticipated way to kick off the fall season. Thanks again to the organizers for welcoming North Country Public Radio to share in this year’s festivities. See you next year!