What to do in Ottawa this weekend: Go to a music festival in Perth, see a pop-rock show at Mooney's Bay, explore Beirut through art

Published Jul 11, 2023 • 3 minute read

Matt Andersen performs on the main stage at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Sunday Aug. 7, 2022. Andersen plays in Perth, Ont. this weekend. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia

FESTIVAL

One of the best little music festivals in the region happens this weekend in Perth, about an hour’s drive west of Ottawa. The Stewart Park Festival is a free, family-friendly event that takes place in a beautiful riverside setting. What’s noteworthy this year is the exceptional lineup, featuring a roster of musical acts that include New Brunswick bluesman Matt Andersen, Gatineau songstress Mia Kelly, singer-songwriter Stephen Fearing, and an appearance by Southern Avenue, the Memphis-based soul outfit that wowed Bluesfest last weekend. The music starts during the day and runs until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and until about 5 p.m. Sunday. For schedule details, go to stewartparkfestival.com.

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ROCK AND MORE

The new generation of Canadian rock is in the spotlight at Mooney’s Bay Beach on Saturday at the HOPE Volleyball Summerfest, which, in addition to being a fundraising beach volleyball tournament, is also a major concert event. This year’s entertainment features the upbeat pop-rock of the Toronto-based, four-woman band, The Beaches, in the headlining slot (note their 5:30 p.m. start time), preceded by the bluesy rock duo, The Blue Stones, powerhouse singer JJ Wilde and Ottawa’s OK Naledi. The music starts at 11:30 a.m. with a set by another Ottawa act, the Escape Society. Tickets are $23 in advance, available at hopehelps.com.

The Beaches. Photo by Becca Hamel /Island handout

ART

The first exhibition in the SAW Gallery’s series examining cities around the world through the eyes of contemporary artists puts the focus on Beirut, Lebanon. Entitled Beirut: Eternal Recurrence, the exhibition is co-curated by Amin Alsaden, Jason St-Laurent and Amar A. Zahr, and runs until Sept. 23, featuring a dozen artists sharing their perspectives on some of the recurring adversities the city has experienced. It opens Saturday with a reception that runs from 6 p.m. to midnight, including a panel discussion, live music and a DJ. SAW Gallery is at Arts Court (67 Nicholas St.) Admission is free. For more information, go to saw-centre.com

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CLASSICAL

The youthful, Montreal-based Andara Quartet will open its Music and Beyond concert on Friday with a piece by Ottawa composer and Carleton University music professor James Wright that has an interesting backstory. Wright was commissioned to write his String Quartet No. 1 by a Carleton colleague, David Cray, who wanted a present for his wife, Ellen. The result was subtitled Ellen at Scattergood, a four-movement piece written after Wright spent time with the Crays at their cottage on Lac Scattergood in the Outaouais. The quartet premiered Wright’s piece last year in Ottawa, and recorded it on their 2022 album De mille feux, which prompted CBC music writer Robert Rowat to call Andara “this year’s breakthrough group” and describe Wright’s piece as “lush, tuneful… one of the year’s best discoveries.” Tickets, starting at $20, are available at musicandbeyond.ca.

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WEST AFRICAN MUSIC

Siaka Diabaté, a musician from Burkina Faso, made heads turn and people listen last month when he played his kora, a West African harp, at the Ottawa Jazz Festival’s late-night jam sessions. On Saturday night from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., he will lead a trio playing his trance-y, grooving music at the cozy, funky Centretown venue Art House Cafe (555 Somerset St. W.). Accompanying Diabaté will be bassist Jacob Clarke and Molo Koné, who plays the traditional calabash drum. Tickets are $10 at thearthousecafe.ca and arriving at 7:30 p.m. is recommended to guarantee getting a seat.

JAZZ-FUNK

A multi-national jazz-funk band with musicians from Poland, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands will join forces with Ottawa’s premier Cuban-jazz pianist, Miguel de Armas, on Saturday. Co-sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ottawa and Steve’s Music Ottawa, the team-up between Polish guitarist Wojtek Justyna’s group and de Armas will take place at Festival Japan restaurant (149 Kent St.) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance at eventbrite.ca or $35 at the door.

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