CityFolk goes big with 2018 lineup announcement

David Byrne Portrait Session

Photo by Drew Gurian/Invision/AP

CityFolk returns to Lansdowne Park once again September 12-16, 2018, for their 25th anniversary, and they aren’t pulling any punches with this year’s lineup. The festival normally does a good job of balancing the old and the new, as well as mixing in different genres to appeal to wider audiences. The five-day festival will see many stand-out acts hit the stages—most notably of whom is David Byrne of Talking Heads fame. Byrne is bringing his American Utopia tour to the capital for the first time since he played Ottawa Jazz Festival along with St. Vincent in 2013. Known for his stage antics and stunning visual performances, the much anticipated return of Byrne to Ottawa is sure to bring out the crowds. Let’s just hope the thunder and lightning stay away for his set this year.

Other well-known acts playing this year’s CityFolk are Hozier, Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker), Belle and Sebastian, The Decemberists, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Steve Earle & the Dukes, Lindi Ortega, Tune-Yards, Whitehorse, and Andy Shauf, among many others. There could be more acts announced, too, so we’ll update this post as more information gets released.

Also returning this year is the free local music programming, called Marvest. While that lineup has yet to be announced, we can certainly expect a lot of great Ottawa acts to be playing this September.

Pre-sale tickets go on sale May 24 at 10 a.m. and regular passes for the general public go on sale on Friday, May 25. More ticket and festival info can be found on the CityFolk website.

Explore the CityFolk lineup below.

CityFolk Lineup (by day)

Wednesday, Sept. 12:

    • Steve Earle & The Dukes.
    • Tedeschi Trucks Band.
    • Kaleo.

Thursday, ​Sept. 13

  • David Byrne
  • Trampled By Turtles
  • Tune-Yards
  • Andy Shauf

 

Friday, Sept. 14

  • Allan Rayman
  • Nick Murphy (Chet Faker)
  • Flint Eastwood
  • Humble Pie
  • William Prince

 

Saturday, Sept. 15

  • Hozier
  • Belle and Sebastian
  • Michael McDonald
  • Lindi Ortega
  • Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
  • Whitney Rose
  • Ben Caplan
  • Skydiggers
  • Gene Clark Tribute

 

Sunday, Sept. 16

  • Janis Ian
  • The Decemberists
  • Whitehorse
  • Colter Wall
  • Terra Lightfoot
  • Chris Smither
  • MonkeyJunk (from Ottawa)
  • Mt. Joy