Devinder Gill was so excited to attend her very first Ottawa Bluesfest since moving here nearly a year ago that the regional president at RBC even scoped out the festival grounds days in advance.

Living and working downtown, she simply walked over to LeBreton Flats to get a quick lay of the land.

On Thursday, her curiosity about what Bluesfest is all about was finally satisfied during opening night of the massive, multi-stage, multi-genre festival, for which RBC is one of the major sponsors.

Wearing a white denim dress with a linen blazer, Gill was there with members of her team on what turned out to be a perfect summer evening. They hosted dozens of clients for the headlining act: American country music singer and songwriter Lainey Wilson.

You see, Gill stepped into her new leadership role shortly after last year’s Bluesfest wrapped up — but quickly realized what a big deal the festival is.

American country music singer and songwriter Lainey Wilson opened up Ottawa Bluesfest 2025 on the RBC Stage at LeBreton Flats on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Country rock band The Red Clay Strays were part of the opening day lineup for Ottawa Bluesfest 2025 at LeBreton Flats. Photo by Caroline Phillips

As one of the largest music festivals in Canada, Bluesfest is a major tourism draw, attracting more than 250,000 attendees over the course of the event, which closes on Sunday, July 20 with Montreal DJ Kaytranada.

Bluesfest delivers an estimated $40-million boost to the local economy, the latest impact study shows.

“I’ve been hearing about Bluesfest since the day I walked in the door at 90 Sparks [office headquarters], not only from the team but also from clients,” said Gill in the RBC Suite.

RBC will continue to host clients in its suite throughout Bluesfest. “This is one of those premier events that I think clients look forward to every year,” she added.

Gill will be bringing her teenage daughters, ages 14 and 16, to see Hozier and Shania Twain, the latter of whose hit “You’re Still the One” was the wedding song for Gill and her husband. As for hard rock band Def Leppard on July 16, her girls have decided to sit that one out (go figure).

Other headliners include Green Day, Sean Paul, Papa Roach and Turnstile, along with many dozens of other artists.

Mark Monahan, founder and executive director of Ottawa Bluesfest, and RBC regional president Devinder Gill at the RBC Suite on Thursday, July 10, 2025, for the opening night of the music festival. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Guests of RBC included local developer Rick Iafelice, CEO and founder of Main + Main; Stephane Chartrand, CFO of Richcraft Group of Companies; and Corey Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Growcer — an Ottawa-based agri-tech startup. Ellis goes to the music festival every year but usually stands in the general admission crowd.

That he and his fiancée, Caroline Fox, got to watch the show with food and drinks in the RBC Suite was not only fun, it also saved them money. “I’m asset-rich but cash-poor,” joked the young entrepreneur.

They weren’t the only engaged couple in attendance. Joseph Pamic, vice president of corporate development at Power-Tek Group, and his cowboy boots-wearing physician fiancée, Dr. Audrey Bicknell, also caught the show in the RBC Suite.

Aaron Rubinoff, co-chair and partner at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, has developed an appreciation for country and western music in recent years. During a recent dinner involving  Justin Schurman, RBC’s regional vice president of commercial financial services, and his husband, Trevor Stevenson, who also works at RBC, the Ottawa lawyer dropped a subtle hint that he’d love to see Lainey Wilson perform. “I had to force my way in,” Rubinoff joked of how he came to be invited.

Other guests included brothers and business partners Mike Medeiros and Fernando Jr. Medeiros from Carleton Mushroom Farms, which has grown over 40-plus years from a small family business into a leading supplier of fresh mushrooms. Their products are carried in Farm Boy, Costco, Metro, Loblaws and Giant Tiger. Every week, they grow 240,000 pounds of mushrooms (this is the sort of fun fact you pick up in conversation between the opening act and headliner).

Corey Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Growcer, and his fiancée, Caroline Fox, in the RBC Suite for the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Stephane Chartrand, CFO at Richcraft Group of Companies, and his wife, Christina Chartrand from Apple’s Dental Millennium, and Patrick Corriveau, director of real estate markets at RBC, and his wife, Dr. Cristin McCauley (Parkdale Dental Centre), in the RBC Suite for the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

 Jaspreet Kalra, deputy chief intellectual property counsel and legal director at Avaya, in the RBC Suite for the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, RBC manager Trevor Stevenson and his husband, Justin Schurman, regional vice president of business financial services at RBC, and Aaron Rubinoff, co-chair and partner at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, and his partner, Jennifer Hubbard, president and CEO at Polar Knowledge Canada, in the RBC Suite for the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

RBC, one of the major sponsors of Ottawa Bluesfest, hosted clients in its suite for the opening night of the multi-day music festival at LeBreton Flats. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Carleton Mushroom Farms co-owners Mike Medeiros, with his nine-year-old daughter Bailey, and Fernando Jr. Medeiros, with his 12-year-old son Cruz, in the RBC Suite for the opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

RBC, one of the major sponsors of Ottawa Bluesfest, hosted clients in its suite for the opening night of the multi-day music festival at LeBreton Flats. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Matt Haddad, account director for premium sales at Senators Sports & Entertainment, and his girlfriend Jennifer Bell dressed for a night of country music in the neighbouring Coors Light sponsor suite — just a tobacco-spitting distance from the RBC Suite. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Bluefest founder and executive director Mark Monahan was feeling good about how this year’s festival was shaping up. “We’ve had a great few years coming out of COVID,” said Monahan.

About 70 per cent of attendees are “repeat customers”, said Monahan, who’s always looking for ways to improve the experience. This year, the festival opened up nearby streets, adding a Mexican cantina and large video screens, creating more space for fans to “take a breather and watch the show from afar, spend time with their friends”, while recognizing that not everyone wants to be jammed up front, said Monahan.

Monahan started Bluesfest in 1994. “I’m floored at how it’s grown over the years but extremely happy to still be part of it,” he told CiTC.

He has many fond memories, but the one he chose to share was from 2015, when Canadian icons The Tragically Hip were set to perform. The rain that day was relentless — so heavy that some thought the show would be cancelled. “The Hip wanted to go on,” said Monahan.

He remembers feeling completely drained from the day’s stress, until he saw tens of thousands of fans showing up anyway, refusing to miss the show.

“I remember that moment; it was just amazing,” said Monahan, who was touched by how badly the fans wanted to be there that day. “What’s great about this event is, it’s not just about the weather or about the fun; it’s about people wanting to see these acts.”

For more information on Bluesfest tickets and schedule, see: https://ottawabluesfest.ca/

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WCPD, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Infinity Convention Centre, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, RBC, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law.

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