Shania Twain headlines opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest

Canadian country superstar Shania Twain will headline opening night at Ottawa Bluesfest Thursday as the summertime festival kicks off its 'Summer of 23' edition.

Canadian country superstar Shania Twain will headline opening night at Ottawa Bluesfest Thursday as the summertime festival kicks off its 'Summer of 23' edition.

Executive Director Mark Monahan previously told CTV News Ottawa that the "Queen of Country Pop" was booked for opening night because her show requires a few days of set-up time.

"It really needed to be at the front end of the festival in order to handle all of her production," Monahan said.

Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss along with rapper Pitbull are among the acts playing the main stage over the course of the festival which runs from Thursday, July 6 to Sunday, July 9 and from Wednesday, July 12 to Sunday, July 16.

Travel on OC Transpo is included in the price of tickets. The city says you can ride the bus, LRT or Para Transpo to and from the festival starting three hours before the event and up to two hours after the end of the event on the day your pass is valid.

There are concerns about whether the Pimisi LRT station can handle the large crowds after the station was closed for a few hours on Canada Day with police saying that "thecurrent design of Pimisi Station does not facilitate the efficient handling of substantial crowds."

"Bluesfest and Canada Day are very different events and require distinct event management strategies," officials said in a statement. "Bluesfest is a ticketed event, with an expected number of attendees. Canada Day crowd numbers are unpredictable and can swell to more than 100,000 people."