Ottawa country singer Nayana was crushed to hear her dream gig at Bluesfest was shifted to an earlier time to make way for Quebec sensations Angine de Poitrine. Photo by PHOTO COURTESY NAYANA

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An Ottawa country singer was crushed to find out that her first appearance at Bluesfest, a dream gig opening for Sheryl Crow and Ella Langley, was moved up an hour and cut short to make way for Quebec rock sensations Angine de Poitrine on the main stage.

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“It just sucks when I was signed a contract and had this planned and I worked so hard to build my show,” said the 24-year-old singer-songwriter known as Nayana, unable to hold back her tears in a TikTok video.

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The festival runs from July 9 to 19 at LeBreton Flats Park on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum, with a crop of headliners that includes Cody Johnson, Limp Bizkit, the Lumineers and more. A dozen or so Ottawa-Gatineau acts are also featured on the program.

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Nayana’s performance was originally scheduled at 6 p.m. on July 17 on the RBC Main Stage, putting the Barrhaven-raised musician in front of the huge crowd of country fans expected to arrive for Langley and Crow. Chances were excellent they would appreciate Nayana’s brand of polished and punchy country tunes.

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Now, instead of charming a crowd that likes country music, Nayana must face the polka-dotted hordes arriving for prog-rock weirdos Angine de Poitrine, while her supporters scramble to get there after work.

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Drummer Klek and guitarist Khn of viral Quebec rock duo Angine de Poitrine lead the crowd in making their trademark pyramid symbol with their hands, Friday, April 3, 2026 at Club Soda. Photo by Samuel Snow

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“I might not have a million followers, but I know that I had hundreds of friends and family and new fans that I was going to be able to make because I had that slot,” she said in the video update. “I’m an independent artist. I don’t have a team or a manager or anyone to deal with this for me. I do it all by myself.

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“I really felt like I had Ottawa and Bluesfest and the whole community behind me on this and now I just feel like I might have been an idiot.”

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Bluesfest boss Mark Monahan wanted to assure her that’s not the case. In an interview, he said the shift was made to avoid overcrowding at the Hard Rock Stage, where Angine was originally scheduled to perform. That stage holds about 5,000 spectators.

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The move was a necessary response to the “unprecedented” rise of Angine de Poitrine. “We felt it would be much wiser to put them on the main stage,” he said, “given the fact that we expect a full house that night and it’s hard for us to predict (which act) the patrons are coming for.

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“We certainly didn’t want to do anything to hurt Nayana,” he added. “It was done out of safety concerns.”

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While Nayana did not make herself available for an interview, she appeared to accept the situation within a few hours. In a message forwarded to the Ottawa Citizen, she described the original gig as a “huge deal and milestone in my career,” and went on to conclude that it was “an unfortunate circumstance for me but an understandable one at the end of the day!”

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Meanwhile, Monahan underscored the festival’s commitment to hiring local bands, and putting them on the main stage “almost every night.”