Amanda Rheaume says she’s excited and honoured to play Bluesfest this year, but it might be hard to top her Canada Day.

The Ottawa singer-songwriter returned Sunday from a July 1 performance for Canadian troops at Kandahar Airfield, part of a squad of Canadian celebs including Mike “Bubbles” Smith, Rick Mercer and Andre-Philippe Gagnon.

It was her second trip to Afghanistan, and with Canada’s combat mission wrapping up, considerably less sombre than her first one, in March 2009, during which three soldiers died.

“This trip was way more celebratory,” she said. “So many people are going home, and it was Canada Day, and the vibe was just great. There was still a war going on, obviously, but you could tell that spirits were really high, and that was really fantastic.”