Who is he?
Mark Monahan is the founder of Ottawa’s Bluesfest and the executive director of two more festivals — Cityfolk and The Festival of Small Halls — as well as an advocate and contributor to the Ottawa arts and festival community.
What’s his background?
Monahan is an Ottawa native, Carleton alumnus, husband and father to four daughters. He lives in the Glebe. Before founding Bluesfest in 1994, Monahan was an aspiring musician.
He entered the business side of the music industry as the manager of the Penguin Club on Elgin Street.
“After several years of really struggling, I was fascinated at how the Ottawa Jazz Festival brought in more people over 10 days than we did in a year,” he told City News. That turned Monahan to organizing smaller music festivals and eventually led to Bluesfest.
What is he known for in Ottawa?
Monahan is best known for establishing Ottawa’s biggest music festival. But he has also been responsible for bringing music directly to young people in the community through school programs. In 2014, he opened an accessible and affordable educational music space, the Bluesfest School of Music and Art.
What do people say about him?
Monahan is a crucial figure in Ottawa’s music industry and that role has been recognized with awards, including being named Ottawa Tourism Person of the Year in 2013. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has even declared this past July 14, Mark Monahan Day, in recognition for his 30-year career in the arts.
“I think it’s great to have a festival that brings in tourists to see not only larger music acts but local [too]… They have a… commitment to uplifting local music which definitely helps impact the culture, younger bands have a festival they can aspire to play that is actually within reach.” said Hannah Judge of FanClubWallet who performed at Bluesfest this past July.
Past Bluesfest performer Bill Wharton, aka the Sauce Boss said, “I wish more directors were like Mark. From the nuts and bolts … to the attitude and generosity of everyone we worked with is indicative of a bossman who cares about people, rather than just being a money grubbing promoter.”
What’s something people don’t know about him?
Monahan has worked in various hospitality jobs as a young person. For several summers, Monahan worked as a post-scrubber and a breakfast cook. Breakfast in the Monahan house — “It’s my big thing,” he told the Glebe Report.
