KITCHENER -- On the second day of Waterloo Region’s first music event since the start of the pandemic, youth showed that they have a place in blues as well.
The Saturday of the 2021 Kitchener Blues Festival kicked off downtown with the Grand Driver Blues Society Summer Camp All Stars.
“It just feels great to be here,” said performer Alexandre Van Cappellen. “I’ve been a part of the camp since I was 10 years old. This has just sort of been a part of my life just kind of growing up here.”
The group was one of 25 performing on the second day of the festival and, according to preside Rob Barkshire, are the youngest group of the weekend, with all of them being under 19.
“The kids are on a professional stage with professional sound people handling things for them,” he said. “It’s just a great experience to see them grow and then boom on that stage.”
Barkshire adds that one of his favourite parts of the festival is being able to give young artists a chance to play on stage.
“I’m really excited,” said summer camp performer Isy Aboagye. “It’s cool because I’ve just been jamming in my room for the past two years, so it’s just exciting.”
To meet pandemic health measures, the festival will see a much smaller crowd, and not attract the usual 150,000 guests.
Those that were in attendance tell CTV News finally feeling the beat in person is a welcome return to some normalcy.
“You hear the music, see the people, see everybody out having a good time, it lifts the spirit,” one attendee said.
The festival wraps up on Sunday with another 17 performances.
