Kitchener Blues Fest relies on variety to stay alive, says artistic director
The Kitchener Blues Festival has unveiled this year’s lineup, and like in other years, some people are upset over it not being purely blues music.
Claude Cloutier is the artistic director for the county’s largest free blues festival and is responsible for booking the bands.
“This year we’ve got Pursuit of Happiness, The Box, Cooper Brothers, The Kings, Winter Sleep,” Cloutier said.
But he’s noticed people voicing their concerns over his bookings.
“I’ve always called them the Blues Police. But those are the people that really care about the blues and want to see it pure at the festival,” he said.
Cloutier says 70 per cent of the lineup is still blues, but adds the mixture of genres is needed to draw in more people and keep the festival going.
“Well it’s a challenging year for us because our costs across the board have gone up 25 - 30 per cent in everything. And our American funds are limited and it costs us a lot of money,” he said.
The festival is volunteer-driven and free aside from the August 8 fundraising concert. Given it costs them $1 million over four days to put it on, Cloutier is reminding people how quickly an event like this could disappear.
“The Limestone Blues Festival in Kingston was around for 26 years and they folded their tent this past fall. A lot of other festivals are feeling the pressure, and I see others going away soon,” Cloutier said.
Virgin Radio KW announcer Rae Kelly says she doesn’t get many requests for blues music since it is more niche.
“But let’s face it, if you want a blues festival in KW, you’re going to have to expand it. You want to introduce blues to other people by getting an artist they might enjoy and hey, they show up early for something and they stay late for something else,” Kelly said.
Cloutier is focused on fine-tuning the event to appease a variety of tastes for years to come.
“We’re going to be celebrating our 25th anniversary in 2025,” he said. “We want to be able to do that.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Oilers starting Calvin Pickard in goal for Game 4 vs. Canucks
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rails against Pride month, working women in commencement speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III unveils his first official portrait since his coronation
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Alberta announces the 4 health agencies that will replace AHS later this year
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
Biden administration moving ahead on US$1 billion arms package for Israel, AP sources say
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.