An estimated 900,000 attendees are expected to turn out during the event's in-progress 11-day run, which continues through July 15. During that time, the festival is hosting some 200 acts on 10 different stages located in some of the Quebec City's most scenic locations.

One of the many things that separates Quebec's affair from other major festivals is its sheer diversity. The 2007 shindig features performers who hail from around the globe, including from Canada, the United States, France, Cuba, Spain, Madagascar, South Africa and the Ivory Coast. Likewise, the festival offers a worldly collection of musical styles, from punk rock and traditional Irish music to reggae and indie pop.

The festival opened on Thursday (7/5) with a winning assortment of acts. The biggest buzz surrounded Trucks, who did not disappoint the crowd with his bluesy offering.

Trucks is one of the busiest performers in the business. Besides playing multiple dates each year as a member of the Allman Brothers, he's also found time for many other side projects. Notably, he recently finished up a stint in Eric Clapton's band during the elder guitar legend's mammoth world tour. He also recently completed an inaugural husband-and-wife outing with spouse Susan Tedeschi, dubbed the Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival.

But his main gig remains the Derek Trucks Band, which features bassist Todd Smallie, drummer Yonrico Scott, keyboardist Kofi Burbridge, vocalist Mike Mattison and percussionist Count M'Butu. That's the outfit that thrilled fans in Quebec.

Going into the show, many festival-goers knew Trucks only by reputation. They wanted to see what all the fuss was about with the 28-year-old gunslinger that Rolling Stone magazine chose for the cover (along with John Mayer and the Red Hot Chili Pepper's John Frusciante) for its issue focusing on "the new guitar gods."

Trucks certainly lived up to the advance hype on this night. His playing was a mix of swampy Southern rock (the kind he's perfected in the Allmans), blistering Chicago blues and rock-star pyrotechnics. Most impressively, he made many fans rethink what they thought they knew about slide guitar. On several occasions, Trucks played slide with a type of surgical precision that you aren't likely to hear from any other guitarist.

Although Trucks drew the majority of "ooohs" and "aaahs" from the crowd, vocalist Mattison also made quite the impression. He wowed fans with impassioned, gravelly vocals, which consistently recalled the best days of Joe Cocker.

There were many other fine performances delivered during the festival's opening night. The best belonged to The Frequency [ tickets ], a young Los Angeles-based band that conjures up a soaring mix of indie-rock, psychedelic and ambient sounds. At times, the group seemed to be channeling Pink Floyd, circa 1975's "Wish You Were Here," as the guitar work reached David Gilmour's anthemic heights. In other spots, the band was as ethereal as Air or as artsy as the Beta Band. In all, the set was enough to make one thing perfectly clear: The Frequency should be on every rock fan's radar.

Two other rock acts--New York's Benzos [ tickets ] and New Orleans' Mute Math [ tickets ]--also put on excellent sets. The former came across like a poppier version of Radiohead, while the latter hit the crowd with an energetic set of piano-led indie-pop.

For those heading out to the festival, here are some of the can't-miss shows: Michael Franti and Spearhead [ tickets ] (July 8), Nikki Yanofsky (July 9), Johnny Clegg (July 10), Los Lobos (July 11), Adrian Belew (July 11), Fishbone (July 12) and Kanye West (July 13).

For more information, visit the festival's website.