Grace Bowers, Shaggy, & Mariah the Scientist at Ottawa Bluesfest

July 18th, 2026, at the Ottawa Bluesfest. Words & photos by Edie Olender

In the Jean Michel Basquiat documentary, The Radiant Child, Fred Brathwaite describes living in New York in the 1970s, explaining that “you could just like say ‘I’m a filmmaker,’ and like your first screening, you know, we would be there. And you’d be a filmmaker.” Later, Jeffrey Deitch says that Basquiat was “blessed with astonishing sophistication as a teenager. He understood exactly where to position himself. At age 18, he was already at the absolute epicentre of the most advanced music, art.” 

When I was moving away from home five years ago. I often thought about how to centre myself in the art world. I was pursuing studies in biomedical sciences, but what I truly wanted to be was an ::::artist::::. I had planned to move to Toronto, the biggest city in Canada, which has a vibrant creative community. On a whim, I moved to Ottawa instead.

I did not expect it, but Ottawa feels like a place in which you can tell someone that you’re a painter or a filmmaker and they’ll believe you. It’s a city with small shows at local bars and zine exchanges and home gallery exhibitions. Even at Ottawa Bluesfest, one of Canada’s biggest music festivals, the presence of the emerging artist showcase and many hometown openers provides a sense of local community in which anything is possible.

Grace Bowers

When nineteen-year-old Grace Bowers took the stage Saturday night, I was reminded of the Basquiat documentary, as Bowers is the same age as Basquiat when he started gaining recognition for his SAMO graffiti. At twenty-two years old, it scares me to see such young talent because what if I missed my chance to be an ::::artist::::. However, watching Bower’s performance, it was clear that age had nothing to do with it. The way they gripped their guitar and travelled up the neck playing tricky notes, it was clear that only passion mattered. 

Over at the RBC stage, Shaggy was energizing the audience with his Reggae fusion. He was twenty-four years old when his songs started to top the charts in the early 90s. At the Hard Rock Stage, twenty-eight-year-old Mariah the Scientist was delivering soulful R&B. Here Come the Mummies over at the Lebreton Stage put on one of the most entertaining performances of the night as the bandaged-wrapped mummies played some spooky funk tunes. Being anonymous, their age is not even something to be considered. 

Why am I considering my own age then? If Bluesfest has taught me anything this weekend, it’s that there is no expiration date on being an ::::artist::::. 

Shaggy

Mariah The Scientist

Here Come The Mummies