In 1999, the Ottawa "Bluesfest" had as its headliner that well-known purveyor of the blues, Sting. Since then, some of their other big-name performers have been Sum 41, Bryan Adams, Blue Rodeo, Alexisonfire, Simple Plan and Great Big Sea, to name but a few. How many of those names scream "blues" to you? Blues purists in Ottawa (and Ottawa's a pretty good blues town, as it goes) tend to scoff at the fest these days.

Similarly, it's been a long time since the Jazz Festival in Montreal focused solely on, y'know, jazz. This year Bob Dylan and Van Morrison were two of the biggest paid shows (and incidentally, they both also played the Bluesfest in Ottawa). Last year, a tribute to Paul Simon was the big outdoor event. Because he's so famous for all of his wonderful jazz recordings.

At the Francofolies this year, I'm told there are acts who perform only in languages that are not French. There aren't many such acts, but they are there. If ever there was a festival that ought to have clear limitations as to who can and can't perform, I'd have to think it's that one. I would be wrong.