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Of course, the newly renovated National Arts Centre is bustling with musical activity these days, including a show by George Thorogood on April 24, plus there’s a steady stream of great shows headed to all the other theatres in town. Boogie blues-rockers the Sheepdogs play Bronson Centre on March 3, a few days before Dashboard Confessional’s March 7 show in the same room. Wilco’s Tweedy is coming to Algonquin Commons Theatre on April 1, while the pride of Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Tom Cochrane, performs March 22 at Centrepointe Theatre.

And I haven’t even mentioned the clubs, from the increasingly popular 27 Club (located in the former Zaphod Beeblebrox location on York Street) to the ongoing lure of established spots like the Black Sheep Inn, Irene’s Pub, Rainbow Bistro, Mercury Lounge and the Brass Monkey, the suburban basement pool hall that played host to Uriah Heep last week and is stoked for Reverend Horton Heat on March 30 and two nights with Protest the Hero, April 20-21.

What’s more, as you’ve no doubt heard, RBC Bluesfest just announced a terrific lineup for this year’s festival, which runs July 5-15 at LeBreton Flats Park, featuring Foo Fighters, Bryan Adams, Beck, the Dave Matthews Band and dozens more. The ticket presale starts today.

So what’s behind this flurry of activity in the local concert scene? For starters, it’s a reflection of the vibrant live-music industry in North America. Although revenue continues to slide in the recorded music sector, the demand for live music has never been greater: Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, had a record year for ticket sales.

After all, the live-concert experience is one of the few things that’s impossible to download, and streaming actually seems to whet the appetite for live music.

“I think streaming has made music so much more accessible and made live concerts even more popular,” said Mark Monahan, Bluesfest’s executive director. “Nothing can substitute for going out and seeing a live show.”

Here in Ottawa, concert promoters took a back seat during last year’s Canada 150 celebrations, but are ready to ramp up the activity for 2018 and beyond.

“We didn’t take a lot of risks in the market last year because there were so many events, both with the municipal 2017 team and the federal events,” said Ken Craig, Live Nation Canada’s vice president, Eastern region. “As you know some years are definitely better than others. It looks like this is going to be a good one.”