Just a Bunch of Kids: Limp Bizkit and Cypress Hill at Ottawa Bluesfest

July 10th, 2026, at the Ottawa Bluesfest. Words & photos by Edie Olender

On the first day of photographing Bluesfest, I watched B-Real and Sen Dog putting clouds in the air as a dad lifted his child into the air. All I could think was thank god my parents took me to concerts when I was growing up. The child sat perched on his dad’s shoulders, taking in the crowd of thousands who were all bopping their heads along to Cypress Hill’s squeaky fast rap. I felt a twinge of wistfulness as I remember when my parents took me to see Cypress Hill perform with Rage Against the Machine’s offshoot band, Prophets of Rage, almost a decade ago. At eleven years old, I did not understand the enormity of what I was watching, but I could feel the excitement and buzzing of the crowd. 

Standing in the Lebreton Flats festival grounds, I feel that same energy again. What stood out to me most this day was the presence of children and families. One would not normally think of a Limp Bizkit concert as catering to the family, but perhaps there is something about the Bluesfest atmosphere that changes that. In the bright sunshine with the smell of French fries and hot dogs drifting through the air, the fairgrounds feel like those warm childhood memories of playing outside all summer long. Bringing in these big rap stars from the 90s, the festival grounds transform into a time machine for all the parents in their punk-rock T-shirts. 

Limp Bizkit

The kids love the time machine too – you see them dancing like nobody is watching. That is the magic of experiencing these moments in childhood, before self-consciousness creeps in. There is a photograph of me at a Canada Day concert in my hometown; I am dancing without a care in the world because all that matters when you are six years old is the colourful lights and carnival food and being surrounded by the people you love. Perhaps there is something about priorities that can be learned from watching how children dance uninhibited. 

The Bluesfest crowd seemed to know this secret about priorities. As F!th, a local Ottawa band, kicked off the night and opened the wall of death, the crowd became a blur of grinning faces and moving bodies. I adore mosh pits because of the freedom they offer in their superorganismal qualities. I never quite figured out how to groove to certain types of music; my body is stiff and does not organically flow to the rhythm. In a mosh pit, though, I can jump up and down and left and right and along with everyone else as we become one flowing organism. 

Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill kept up this energy as they took control of the main RBC stage. I kept my eyes glued forward, trying to ignore the 20-something-year-old boy who was trying to talk me up. How could he be focused on anything other than the show? He must be insane in the membrane for that. 

Limp Bizkit kept on the night rollin’ with their energetic rap-rock. I knew that Fred Durst was older, but I wasn’t expecting the middle-aged man who walked out on stage. However, age had nothing on his unapologetically raw attitude and vocals. One of my usual photo gigs is shooting Ottawa’s Emo Night dance party at one of the local clubs, in which Break Stuff is a classic tune. They played that song not only once, but twice in one night, as everyone screamed out the words and let themselves be free for that one moment. Almost as if we were a bunch of kids again. 

Note: On the Lebreton Stage, a quieter show was taking place with Miko Marks and Steve Earle, both singing deep from their soul. 

F!th

Miko Marks

Steve Earle