Hot sun, rock n’ roll, and screaming fans could be heard all over town in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL for none other than the annual summer Salmon Festival concert.
The concert featured six of the greatest bands from across the country and around the world between 2:45pm and 11pm on beautiful Centennial Park for a crowd of over 30,000 people.
Opening the show was East Coast favorite Matt Minglewood with a set focusing on songs about his native Nova Scotia and the crowd favorite “Can’t You See”, originally performed by the Marshall Tucker Band, the song was turned into a story following the life of a “young farm boy from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia”
As the crowd was just getting amped up, country rock legends Blue Rodeo hit the stage, taking the growing crowd on a journey through their hits. One thing very evident in the set was a major focus on the “Five Days in July” album, probably the groups most successful. The opening “Head Over Heels”, “Cynthia”, “Five Days In May” and “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” all made appearances to roaring applause from the crowd. The band also performed signature hits such as “Try” and “Til I am Myself Again” to continued excitement from the crowd, making Blue Rodeo easily one of the top highlights of the day.
A very short, but exciting set was played by JD & The Straight Shot, which fused a blues sound with classic rock to create a great listening atmosphere for the 5’oclock hour. The band are known for playing many shows with festival headliner, Eagles.
As 6:00 rolled around, you could see that the crowd was beginning to turn into a sea of cowboy hats as country music favorite Johnny Reid took the stage to much excitement from the crowd. While some of the rocker crowd retreated to the beer tent, there was no shortage of country girls (and guys) dancing in the pit of favorites such as “Fire it up” and “Walking on Water”.
For many, there is one band that they call their favorite, a “home and native Band” who never performs straight off the CD, making every single night a different experience. That band is The Tragically Hip, and for these Ontario boys, Saturday night was no different.
The group opened their set with “At Transformation”, the first single off their latest Now For Plan A album, and continued the set with hits such as “Grace Too”, “Ahead By a Century” and Bobcaygeon. A very special montage of “New Orleans is Sinkin’/Nautical Disaster” was performed along with more new songs and fan favorites.
After The Hip exited the stage, fans began to exclaim that they “stole the show”, which The Hip has become very good at doing over the years, and the now eight times I have seen them.
As the clock struck nine, music fans began to take their places for the main event – the headlining performance by Eagles.
Beginning at about 9:20, the band took the stage opening up with Witchy Woman and Take It Easy, following mass applause and sing along, the band exclaimed that they would be taking us through their history chronologically to perform some of their biggest hits which included “Hotel California”, “Take it to the Limit”, “The Long Run”, “Heartache Tonight” and many more.
Perhaps one of the most exciting things about an Eagles show is the inclusion of hits from the groups solo projects. One of my favorite members of The Eagles has to be Joe Walsh, he is one of the classiest of rock n’rollers out there, a lifestyle he often embraces. After the band was introduced, Walsh and the Eagles performed “Life’s Been Good” to a very loud sing along. “Funk 49” was also performed to the surprise and excitement of many concert attendees.
To close out the show, another Walsh tune “Rocky Mountain Way” and full band classic “Desperado” were performed.
It’s safe to say that Salmon Festival 2013 was one of the greatest shows we, and the crowds at Centennial Park have ever seen, and we cannot wait to return in 2014 for another great day of rock n’ roll. and that’s what it’s all about!
While no dates for 2014 have been announced, we expect that the show will take place on the same weekend next year.
When asked about who fans want to see in 2014, a lot of “AC/DC” and “Pearl Jam could be heard. Both acts are said to be plotting big plans for 2014, with the latter groups new album coming in October.
Stay tuned for all of the details on Salmon Festival 2014.
Tell us in the comments who you would like to see next year.
Full Eagles Setlist: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/eagles/2013/centennial-park-grand-falls-nl-canada-33d94ca9.html