Even MORE Ottawa Bluesfest coverage: Billy Bragg, Social Distortion, and Jamie Webster

[Review by Melody Maloney with photos by Melody Maloney and Ross MacDonald. – AC]

Thursday’s Hard Rock stage lineup at Ottawa Bluesfest 2026 was one I’d been looking forward to since it was announced. Three amazing artists, all outspoken activists in their own rights. 

First up on that beautiful afternoon was Liverpool’s Jamie Webster. He walked out on stage, solo and casual in a white t-shirt and black slacks. The set kicked off with ‘We Get By,’ just him, a stomp box, and his acoustic guitar. 

Next up was a song inspired by the likes of Bob Dylan and the upcoming Billy Bragg. ‘How Do You Sleep at Night’ was a solemn plea for peace to those who profit off the war economy. 

Things got a little more upbeat afterwards with ‘Looking Good’ being full of positivity and self-love, and ‘Across the River,’ a song about putting your problems aside for a while and enjoying the company of friends and neighbors. 

‘North End Kid’ was semi-autobiographical, talking about growing up in a lower-class neighborhood, but having dreams to get out of there and do something beyond manual labor. 

Webster shared a few stories about his time in Ottawa, most notably about taking a spill in the park while playing frisbee the afternoon of the show and landing hard on his wrist. Luckily, it didn’t detract from his performance one iota. 

We were next treated to ‘Lovers in the Supermarket,’ which may just be the sweetest song I’ve heard all year. That was followed by a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s folksy classic, ‘The Boxer.’ 

Another sweet song to warm the heart was written for his longtime wife. From Webster’s second album, ‘Something in the Air’ nearly brought a tear to my eye. 

Another cover, this time ‘House of the Rising Sun’ by The Animals got a great reaction from the crowd. We then got a sneak preview of an as-of-yet unreleased song off his upcoming album Running Round the Sun. ‘V.A.T.’ (Value Added Tax) again slammed greedy politicians for taking more than their share and keeping folks down. 

‘This Place’ was an ode to home, wherever that may be for the listener. 

Webster closed his set with ‘Weekend in Paradise,’ promising to come visit Canada again soon. 

When I tell people something is “punk rock,” what I mean is Billy Bragg. For nearly 50 years now, Bragg has been unshakeable in his commitment to equality for all people, solidarity, and social activism through his music. He’s inspired countless others over the course of his career. 

He strode out on stage, looking dapper as ever, for a stripped-down set – just him on guitar and a keyboardist, and opened with ‘The Warmest Room.’ 

After the song, he asked the stage techs to jokingly kill the smoke, because there was enough in the air from all the wildfires, before launching into ‘Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key,’ which Bragg had recorded with Wilco and Natalie Merchant in 1998. 

We heard ‘Greetings to the New Brunette’ before Bragg shared with us his negative opinions on Donald Trump, to which the crowd agreed. 

This led into the one-two punch of ‘The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here No More,’ and ‘All You Fascists Are Bound to Lose,’ originally by Woody Guthrie. 

Bragg then took time to praise the people of Minneapolis for standing up to ICE agents in their communities, before dedicating ‘City of Heroes’ to them, calling the resistance “Trump’s Stalingrad.” 

Things slowed a bit for ‘Sexuality,’ the lyrics to which Bragg modified to be trans-affirming. After which, Bragg made a call to action for people of all ages to come to the defense of trans rights. This led directly into ‘I Will Be Your Shield,’ which held the crowd in rapt fixation.  

Things got softer still for ‘St. Swithin’s Day,’ then ramped up again for ‘Hundred Year Hunger,’ a song about the forced starvation of Palestine by Israel for the last century, and Britain’s complicity in such. The song ended with a cry of “Free Palestine!” which was echoed by the audience. 

‘There Is Power in a Union’ was followed by a sing-along of ‘A New England,’ and Bragg then closed the set with ‘Waiting for a Great Leap Forward.’ He left to a standing ovation, cheers, and cries for just one more song. 

Bragg’s set had run a touch long, but no one complained as the tech furiously set up for the final act of the night. A little ‘Rebel Rebel’ by David Bowie was pumped through the speakers to start us off as the Born to Kill leopard appeared on the screen. 

Fittingly, Social Distortion exploded onto the stage with ‘Born to Kill.’ It was standing room only and the energy was high. 

Red lights blazed for a fiery performance of ‘Untitled.’  It was great to see that tonsil cancer and recovery hadn’t slowed Mike Ness one bit. He sounded as good as ever. 

The band launched right into ‘Tonight’ before finally slowing for a step to greet the crowd and took a moment to apologize for the orange orangutan in the Oval Office, and the politics of the States as a whole. 

This led into the thunderous ‘No Way Out’ and again directly into ‘The Creeps.’ The audience was stoked, cheering, jumping, fists pumping into the night air. 

The red lights blared again for ‘Mommy’s Little Monster.’ Then, at last the mood mellowed a bit for the nostalgic ‘The Way Things Were.’ 

After a bit of a ramble from Ness about the struggles of being an alt artist back in the 70’s, we were treated to ‘Partners in Crime.’ 

The stage went dark for a moment and when the lights came back up, it was time for ‘Ball and Chain,’ then directly into ‘Through These Eyes.’ 

The song of the night, the one everybody was waiting for was obviously ‘Story of My Life,’ which earned a huge pop and a near complete sing along from the crowd. 

Music and activism go hand in hand, as these three acts demonstrate. As Billy Bragg said, “Music may not change the world on its own, but it gives you the power to believe you can change the world.”