Last night kicked off Sarnia’s 6th annual Bluewater BorderFest festival. Night one of three featured legendary 90s acts such as Vanilla Ice, Color Me Badd, Young MC, C&C Music Factory, along with several guest performances. Concert goers of all ages wearing neon flooded the outdoor venue at Centennial Park in support of the “Love the 90s Tour”.
Ironically, a lot of people in the crowd had not lived in the decade that the event was celebrating. Speaking to artist Vanilla Ice after his set, he solidified the feeling.
“The 90s were the last great decade before computers and all of that. Even if you didn’t live in it you know it because of how legendary it was,” he said. “Sarnia knew it and brought it tonight!”
The first two acts, Sarnia’s own Rumblefish and Nashville’s Joe Denim, got the ball rolling as the crowd slowly started to fill the field. Rumblefish got the crowd to sing along to well-known 90s hits.
Joe Denim, alone on stage with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a keyboard, made the crowd laugh with his mix of comedy and country. He sang relatable songs about toxic relationships, giving the festival a sort of hillbilly soap opera vibe. He was a sharp turn from the festival theme, but his charisma got the audience engaged and excited for what was to come.
After the two opening acts, it was not long until the first of the advertised lineup took to the stage. From the moment C&C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams stepped out on stage, the crowd erupted into dance with their electrifying performance. Young MC followed just minutes after the end of C&C’s set and the intensity came to a head when he started his iconic hit “Bust a Move”. People nearly jumped over the barricade out of excitement. Color Me Badd was the final act before headliner Vanilla Ice. Most audience members were desperate for Vanilla Ice to get on stage but were quickly distracted by the fun performance of Color Me Badd.
As they announced Vanilla Ice’s entrance you could almost feel the air shift. Nearly everything and anything happened in his set. From Mutant Ninja Turtle Michelangelo joining Vanilla Ice on stage for “Ninja Rap”, and the crew spraying water on the crowd at random intervals, the first few songs were hyper to say the least. Vanilla Ice, after seeing several audience members taking selfies in front of the barrier, decided to invite the crowd to join the stage with him. Nearly 100 audience members, including children, hopped on stage with Vanilla Ice to perform his hit “Ice Ice Baby”. Ice continued to take photos with fans as he hopped down past the security barrier, taking photos with fans. It was a strong end to a very intense and amazing night.
Those who came for the single evening were satisfied and those with weekend or two day passes were left anticipating for more. Overall, it's safe to say the start of the 2024 Bluewater BorderFest was successful. We are only a third of the way through, with night’s two and three featuring legendary acts such as Our Lady Peace, Bush, Skillet, and Scott Stapp of Creed along with many others. It's not too late for Sarnians to purchase tickets online or at the door for one or both of these evenings.
Dani Duesbury is a recent Lambton College grad covering Bluewater Borderfest for The Journal.