Artist: Amigo the Devil
When: July 11th, 2025
Where: Lebreton Flats Park, Ottawa Bluesfest, Ottawa
Context: A few days in to this year’s edition of Ottawa Bluesfest and I’ve already been treated to a number of unforgettable performances that have not only introduced but quickly made a fan of this humble music nerd to their respective artists. One example of these pleasant surprises was the 7:45pm set by Amigo the Devil on Friday night on the River stage. It was my friend Josh and the fact that this artist was the only reason he was attending the festival on this night that pushed me to have a look into the music of the noir folk artist beforehand. A few spins of their tunes had me looking forward to the set as well but I was woefully unprepared for how blown away I would be. Frontman Danny Kiranos’s immense stage presence and storytelling prowess had the crowd wrapped up with him, laughing and crying and singing along. Especially poignant were the duet with his girlfriend Abbey covering the John Prine tune “In spite of ourselves” and in introducing “It’s all gone” with a crack that he wished he had never wrote the song after losing most of his possessions in a house fire last month. I can’t wait to start digging further into his catalogue and wouldn’t hesitate to see Amigo the Devil, solo or full band, live, again and again and again.
Point of reference song: “Murder at the bingo hall”
My (life in) music lists 