CityFolk Finds New Home at RA Centre With Expanded Lineup for September

Ottawa's CityFolk Festival has unveiled its program for a new home on the grounds of the RA Centre at 2451 Riverside Drive, where it will debut this summer after being bumped from Lansdowne Park due to construction.

The festival runs September 16 to 20 with headliners including classic shock-rocker Alice Cooper, post-grunge hitmakers Third Eye Blind, country-leaning powerhouse Cameron Whitcomb, American boogie-blues band Alabama Shakes, and Iceland's Of Monsters and Men.

Organizers hope to attract 10,000 music fans each night — a boost of about 20 per cent over the festival's previous capacity at Lansdowne's Great Lawn. "We've encountered issues at Lansdowne just because of the size," said Mark Monahan, executive director of CityFolk and sister festival Bluesfest. "We didn't really have room to grow at Lansdowne. This gives us room to grow."

The new site is less than four kilometres south of Lansdowne but much easier to access by public transit, and paid parking will be available nearby. Some observers expected the festival to move to LeBreton Flats Park, where Bluesfest is held, but Monahan said their preferred dates weren't available and he wanted CityFolk to maintain its own identity. "We don't want it to turn into a mini-Bluesfest," he said.

CityFolk was bumped from the Great Lawn last year because of the multimillion-dollar Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment project. It's unclear if it will ever return. "We don't know what the end plan will look like at Lansdowne, or when that could be available," Monahan said. "We're looking for a semi-permanent home, and we are optimistic about the new site. Our hope is that we'll be there for an indefinite time."

CityFolk will again operate as a dual-stage festival, featuring a mix of folk, roots, indie, and alternative acts.