Bluewater Borderfest continued Friday evening at Centennial Park in Sarnia, though the first few hours were rocky for both festival staff and concertgoers.
Early in the evening, as the crowd slowly piled into the field, torrential rain poured down, leading many to hide under vendor canopies.
Still, morale was high as many were anticipating headlining act Bush.
When the rain slowed down, Sarnia’s Born Riot took the stage to open the show. The band managed to finish two songs before an evacuation was issued due to lightning.
As security attempted to direct the crowd out into the parking lot, tensions rose.
Many did not want to leave the festival grounds and obstructed the only entrance between the VIP and General Admission sections, causing a blockage to the festival gates. It took around 20 minutes for the now soaking wet crowd to begrudgingly make it to the parking lot. They would wait outside the gates for close to an hour before the storm cleared and festival staff were able to open doors.
Due to time constraints, and with an already impatient crowd, Born Riot was not able to finish their set. The next act, Saint Asonia, came on quickly with much the crowd still continuing to make their way through the gates as they were performing. The band’s high energy was enough to quickly turn around spirits, the festival was back on.
Despite bursts of rain throughout the night, everything went according to plan. Skillet’s set was a sight to behold — smoke machines, moving platforms — the band had festival goers in the palm of their hand, singing along to many of their songs. The energy of the performance was enough to almost forget about the evacuation just an hour previously.
After much anticipation and several roadblocks in the way, Bush was able to finally come on stage for what ended up being a 60 minute setlist. The majority of songs came from their 1994 album Sixteen Stone including the hits Glycerine, Machinehead and Everything Zen. Many sang along for the songs the band performed, loud enough you could hear them from the back of the park.
The final song the band ended was their most popular, Comedown. Even though it was a rock show, Bush’s performance acted as sort of calm after the storm in a night that could have ended in disappointment.
The pitfalls seen last evening weren’t enough to deter the staff and audience. With enough willpower and luck, the staff were able to quickly pull the festival back together in an organized manner.
Today marks the third and final day of the 2024 Bluewater Borderfest. This evening Our Lady Peace, Scott Stapp of Creed, Finger Eleven, and I Mother Earth will be performing. Tickets are still available online and at Will Call at the festival’s opening.
Dani Duesbury is a recent Lambton College grad covering Bluewater Borderfest for The Journal.