KJ Thomas will be bringing you a sound that keeps blues, country-folk, and rockabilly in a tight tango, backed by a band of greats. Last year, KJ released two full albums of new music in a unique double album release, one written solely by her, the other written by Steve Donnelly. The band will be coming off the heels of Bluesfest and will be highly ready to kick off your Barnstorm adventure!

KJ Thomas: Vocals
Steve Donnelly: Guitar
Rob Lethbridge: Stand up
Andre Ferraton: Drums
Jim McDowell: Keys
Brady Leafloor: Horns

Area Resident is the music of Ottawa journalist Doug Hempstead, who records at home between split shifts as a CBC radio traffic reporter. The songs are often based on stories he’s covered or has come into contact with as a reporter. They draw heavily from his Ottawa Valley upbringing. The Valley is where Doug’s music gets its finishing touches. Following the initial recording, the tracks are sent to producer/musician Jordon Zadorozny (Blinker The Star) at Skylark Park in Pembroke, for overdubs, mixing and to be produced and mastered.

Doug Hempstead: Drums and vocals
John Higney (The Flaps): Guitars and keys
Paul Jensen: Guitar
Kristy Nease: Bass

Since their formation in 2005 until their semi-retirement as a band in 2013, this raw and raunchy trio from Canada’s capital gathered a legion of fans, and a reputation for intense stage shows. Their sound is real rock’n’roll, with a roots-rock flavour. The band can easily do a rocking surf instrumental with the fervor of Dick Dale, and, in a heartbeat, shift gears to roll right into a rockin’ rockabilly rave up, or a Stooges influenced, feedback infused, pounding rock’n’roll song.

During their active years, this trio had been regularly playing many of Ottawa’s live music venues, as well as traveling to play various clubs in Toronto, Montreal, London, Hamilton, Peterborough, and several other towns in Southern Ontario. They performed at the 2008 Ottawa Blues Festival.

Their original material, as captured in their 3 released recordings (Knuckle Duster CD EP, The Evilling album, and Three Orange Whips 7”), matters most, but for their live shows, the band likes to have fun by whipping out some heavily “Evil-ized” versions of songs by the likes of Max Webster, Dick Dale, Black Sabbath, Tom Waits, Deke Dickerson, Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn, Link Wray, and, even Alice Cooper.

Dave Kerr: Guitar and Lead Vocals
Janice Fitzsimmons: Bass, Lead and Backing Vocals
Jeb Bond: Drums, Background Vocals

The Bushpilots, one of the National Capital’s most enduring bands, were founded in 2002, released their debut album Sonic Scenery in 2005, and their fifth album, All the Little Things, in 2015. 

They have established themselves as a cornerstone of Ottawa’s rich roots music community and have distinguished themselves with four appearances at the world renowned Ottawa Bluesfest with their marathon shows, whip-smart songwriting, solid musicianship and wistful vocal harmonies, occupying a musical space somewhere between Wilco, Crazy Horse and The Heartbreakers. 

The Bushpilots have just expanded to six members, adding lap steel/slide guitarist extraordinaire Fred Guignion to the lineup, who is making his debut with the band at Barnstorm.  The band is currently in preproduction for their sixth album.  This is the BP’s third appearance at Barnstorm.  

Rob Bennett: Vocals, guitar and harmonica
Fred Guignion: Lap Steel
Gilles Mantha: Drums
Jeff Monette: Bass
Tom Pechloff: Piano, organ and vocals
Glen Russell: Guitar and vocals

The Reverb Syndicate was formed in late-2005 in Ottawa, Canada with the simple concept of exploring and re-imagining the music of groups from The Ventures to Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet via the soundtracks of old spy movies. This concept has led them to four independently-released albums, heavy gigging throughout Ontario and Quebec, recurring gigs in New York City, and two UK tours.

In 2006, they introduced the masses to their blend of sixties spy movie music and classic surf rock with their debut album, “Operation: Jet Set!”. In 2007, they blasted off into the stars with the space-themed “Sputnik A-Go-Go”. In 2011, it was back to the wild west with “Mondo Cacti”, where spaghetti westerns reign supreme.

Now The Reverb Syndicate is ready to begin a new adventure, one that finds our heroes pitted against an evil uprising of the Commodore 64 (spoiler alert: the machines win). Let the “Odyssey” begin…

Mike Bradford: Lead guitar & Commodore 64
James Rossiter: Rhythm guitar & Keyboards
Jeff Welch: Bass
Michael Sheridan: Drums & Shouting

Slo’ Tom and the Handsome Devils formed around 2009 and their album “Musta Been a Pretty Good Night!” was released in October 2012. Their 2013 album “I’m Sick” received rave reviews and they had a song chosen by the Ottawa Citizen as one of the Top Ten releases of 2013. Good times!

Slo’ Tom also plays in a metal band called MANPOWER and helps out his buddy Sherwood Lumsden with Hey Buster! (a children’s entertainment group almost as good as Kiddio).

Slo’ Tom: Acoustic guitar and lead vocals
JJ Higgs: Electric guitar, lap steel and backing vocals
Rob “Chops” Snazdell-Taylor: Bass
Jon “Killer” Kiely: Drums and backing vocals

A survivor of the 1970’s disco boom, Elorious Cain has a reputation of spinning an uncommon variety of new genres with ease. According to Jennifer Hartley in Ottawa Life Magazine “Cain is the eclectic and effervescent DJ who has trained some of the world’s most renowned DJs but who himself thankfully refuses to take his groove away from the Capital”.  His show “The Groove” is often called “CKCU’s flagship disco show”.  It remains as much a current source of discotheque music as it has for the last 38 years.