© Sean Wilkin

There’s Virgin Festival and Canadian Music Week has its accolades but the locals know: the 17-year-old Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest can hold its own too. The city’s annual music festival was held on July 6th-18th and is considered to be one of the top ten summer events in the world. Though it has roots in blues music, the festival has branched out over the years to include many genres and this year was no exception.

Plagued by a gruelling heat wave in the first few days, Bluesfest 2010 got off to an amazing start with acts including Great Lake Swimmers, Andrew Bird, Iron Maiden, Metric, Passion Pit, Lights, and Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip.

GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS

LIGHTS

ANDREW BIRD

GORD DOWNIE (THE TRAGICALLY HIP)

PASSION PIT

METRIC

[Never heard of Bluesfest? Leave your thoughts of the unknown gem below!]