Bluesfest organizer Mark Monahan said involving local businesses was a major consideration during the planning of this year’s festival.
Ottawa’s biggest summer event announced its lineup on Tuesday, with the official launch party happening at the Ottawa Board of Trade’s Business After 5 event. The festival, which runs July 10-20, will feature headliners such as Shania Twain, Hozier, Def Leppard, Lainey Wilson and Sean Paul.
The well-attended launch event took place at Festival House, the site of the historic former Westboro United Church that is now the headquarters for the Ottawa Bluesfest and CityFolk teams.
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Monahan said local business was top of mind when putting together this year’s festival.
“The event generates about $40 million in economic impact for the community and it means a lot to the hospitality industry, but also to lots of businesses in Ottawa that participate or actually work and generate their income from working at the festival,” Monahan told OBJ on Tuesday.
In his remarks to business and community leaders, Monahan explained that, “We do a retreat every year and this year we said, we really need to get local businesses. We’ve been so fortunate to have some great national sponsors represented locally. But, we said, what are we doing for local business? How do we engage people?… We came up with a package to allow local businesses to get their name up on the big screen, which was more affordable.”
As Bluesfest celebrates 30 years, Monahan reflected on what has helped the festival succeed.
“The first person we hired was a sponsorship manager. We only have the money to pay for one person, so let’s get someone who’s actually going to generate some revenue. That was the idea and it worked,” the festival founder said.
Five years removed from the beginning of the pandemic, Monahan hopes to continue with the festival on an “upward trajectory” as organizers “invest money in a bigger lineup, a better site and just a better experience for everyone.”
He told OBJ the festival is trying to improve things on-site, from ticket-scanning to more attractions and activities.
“We did a Crazy Horse last year, the saloon, and we’ll do a Mexican restaurant in the park this year. (These are) just things that people will enjoy and get them to hang out earlier,” he said.
Monahan said that while the most stressful part of the job is putting together the lineup, “the proof will be in the pudding” when it comes to the success of this summer’s festival.
“(We’re) a small group but very dedicated and we put the best lineup we can given our resources. We feel it’s second to none in terms of any festival across North America this year. It’s not over yet. We’ve announced the lineup, but there’s still lots to do,” he said.
Ottawa Bluesfest 2025 sponsors and partners include RBC, DE systems, MediaPlus Advertising and, as of Tuesday, the newly formed Downtown BIA.
Daniel Thiruganaratnapathy, vice-president of mid-market commercial banking at RBC, spoke as a local representative for the bank.
“It’s kind of nice to be at an event and not talk about tariffs and politics,” he quipped. “On behalf of RBC, I am thrilled to be here as we celebrate the launch of another incredible Ottawa Bluesfest. We’ve been a proud sponsor for the last 13 years and we’re thrilled to return as a main stage sponsor for another year, which will be our 14th year. This long-standing sponsorship is part of our commitment to supporting music and the performing arts, including emerging artists, as well as local events and events that create jobs and drive economic growth in our community.”
Chef Ric Watson, who runs Chef Ric’s Food Services Training Program with the Ottawa Mission, is a sponsor for the Business After 5 event and Ottawa Bluesfest.
“We’re very excited this year to also be a backstage caterer (as well as the VIP club caterer). This will open doors for our student volunteers,” Watson told OBJ on Tuesday.
The last to speak at the event was Tammy McMullen, marketing director at the soon-to-open Hard Rock Casino Ottawa. She said the entertainment destination will include music memorabilia from some of Bluesfest’s most iconic performers when it opens its doors later this year. She added that, although she didn’t have an opening date, she promised it would feature a “very memorable artist.”
