Reportage

Praise on the 10th anniversary of the Festive!

Praise on the Festive Scene. © Marie-Hélène Mello / RFI

07/22/2019

In just 10 years, the Festive! has grown from 2,000 to nearly 39,000 festival-goers. Back to this anniversary edition of the musical event that, from July 18 to 21, 2019, stormed Baie-Saint-Paul, a village of 7,500 inhabitants in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. And meeting with one of the headliners of this edition, Les Louanges.

In Quebec, summer rhymes with music festivals, and the province has tons, for all tastes. In contrast to more "old" and established festivals (such as the Quebec City Summer Festival, the Francofolies or the Montreal Jazz Festival), there are more "young" events that offer truly innovative show formulas. bold, often at a lower cost.

Since most Quebec artists spend the summer filming from one festival to another, fans may see the same artist more than once during the season. How to distinguish then, especially when one is a smaller event far from the big centers? The Festive! found several answers that deserve attention.

Unusual scenes and surprise concerts

This year, the headliners of the festival - Chromeo , Gogol Bordello and The Three Chords - were very popular: presented on the big outdoor stage (the "traditional" scene of the Festive!), Their shows were complete. But on the outskirts, all sorts of original events (often free) were organized from noon to early morning.

Every morning, festival-goers could go to the Quai du Quai, located at the Baie-Saint-Paul marina, where artists such as Ariane Moffatt or Tire le Coyote performed in a truly enchanting setting. In the afternoon, the new Floating Stage, inaugurated this year, offered an even more unusual performance context! This pontoon placed in the middle of the river has, among other things, hosted the humorous rock-pop quartet Bleu Jeans Bleu . The musicians were surrounded by spectators settled in kayaks, along the bridge or in the water, for a very healthy swim during the heat wave. An impressive success!

Another innovation of the festival is the Festive Bus!, Which strolls through the village an artist and his audience, in a bus transformed into a dance floor. This ultra-popular free series has been a part of this year's celebration with female hip-hop duo Heartstreets , rapper Robert Nelson , singer Sarahmée and DJ Ryan Playground . Not to mention the parish's Garage scene (a garage near the church), the Microbrasserie Charlevoix scene (a funeral parlor), a clandestine bar, a trailer, a few tents, a "campfire" scene in a campsite (where we have had the chance to see Safia Nolin ), and several other types of places yet.

Another very popular formula at Festive! is that of surprise concerts, which are unveiled half an hour in advance through notifications on the mobile application of the festival. They can stand in the street ( Bernard Adamus ), on the ground of a villager ( Kevin Parent ), on a car ( Marjo ), at the marina ( Guillaume Beauregard ), or even among the public between two concerts announced ( Always Drinking Brass Band ).

Once again free, these shows are a delight for festival-goers who are lucky to be available and nearby when the announcement is made. Mystery events can be delivered by artists already on the bill - in reduced training, acoustic mode, etc. - or by others who are visiting Baie-Saint-Paul as festival-goers.

The consecration of Les Louanges

It's pretty hard to believe, watching him on stage, that Vincent Roberge (aka Les Louanges ) released his first album last year. Harvesting several major awards, La nuit is a panther that has had the effect of a bomb on the Quebec scene, with its 14 tracks that uniquely combine its pop, r'n'b, soul, hip hop or jazz influences. It is this entire album that he has interpreted - with enormous ease - on the biggest stage of the Festival, at the opening of the festival last Thursday.

The audience knew the words of Westcott , the title track of the album, Jupiter , Pitou and DMs by heart . It was even more obvious on Tercel , the hit with which he finished his concert, letting the festival-goers sing for him. A moment of emotion for this 23-year-old singer-guitarist (and multi-instrumentalist trained in jazz), who, not so long ago, was still unknown to the general public.

Even if The night is a panther is still fresh, Vincent announced the release this fall of a new EP, which he gave a taste of Festive! with the song Wait for me not . Unhappily unable to offer a surprise show as well, as it flew to the Spa Francofolies the next day, the artist met us at the heart of the festival to answer a few questions.

The Louanges: since its publication in 2018, your album is transformed over the shows?
There are people who think that the show is going to be a little quieter like the record, but the energy is on top! It is obviously still early to reinvent itself completely, and it's been a short time since I'm really satisfied with the formula on show ... Except that I recently inserted a song from the EP, and I find it really fun from the point of view. creative view of playing what is not out yet. It may be a little stuntman too! (laughs) I'm also doing a song with Qualité motel [ electro group for the Festive! just after Les Louanges, on the same stage ].

Do you compose continuously, despite all the tour dates you have been doing since the release of the album?
I may have overestimated my ability to compartmentalize! (laughs) This is the first time I have a real "rush" tour. I discover, I experiment ... In June, I played at the Petite-Vallée festival [ in Gaspésie, 850 km from Montreal ] and the next day, I moved. We learn ! I think I need some time to write. When I push myself, new songs come out ...

Which musicians are you with?
The co-director of the album, my right-hand man who is almost like a big brother, is called Félix Petit. He is from Besançon and arrived in 2008 in Montreal. We also went to play in his city and it was great! In show, he is saxophonist, keyboardist. It's a bit of my safety: I'm coming with songs that are already very well built in my computer, and he offers me interesting suggestions. It's very organic as collaboration. When I can not make a decision, he almost gets angry and pushes me to try things. It was to him that I gave carte blanche to form my band - they all gravitate around a collective of musicians in Montreal, with a somewhat DIY approach and independent, which makes no concessions. I learn a lot by working with them. I call them "jazz punks"! I want a complete show, which is quite pop, but with much more technical flights, solos, etc. It's the opposite of hip hop shows presented with only a laptop !

Official website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram of the festival
Official website / Facebook / Instagram of the artist Les Louanges

By: Marie-Hélène Mello

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