Directed for the first time by a woman, the Tadoussac Song Festival aims to negotiate the turn of quarantine with a more “representative and inclusive” musical offering in order to renew the formula which allowed the north-coastal event to stand the test of time, despite the explosion in the number of summer festivals in Quebec.
“We took over the festival as our project, but taking advantage of its notoriety. We don’t want to change everything, but we want to add our color,” summarizes the new general director of the event, Myriam Sénéchal.
“It’s a big challenge to build a program for our 40th anniversary, but one that also speaks to what we are and lays the foundations of our renewed vision, including new concepts that we want to highlight,” adds the one who heads a small team of 11 people made up entirely of women.
This 40e edition of the festival, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, promises a line-up of around sixty artists who give pride of place to diversity and parity. “We have a concern for representativeness. We want to put forward programming that is representative and inclusive. And society is ready to highlight artists of diversity, including indigenous artists,” underlines Mme Sénéchal, citing the presence of Elisapie, the Innu group Maten and the Innu artist Soleil Launière, who won the 2024 edition of the Francouvertes.
The team also chose to focus on an equal artistic selection. “It’s important for us to achieve gender parity and to put this idea forward, but not just for the number of people. We also want this to be the case with the headliners,” specifies the general director. We find there, in particular, Safia Nolin, Marjo, Calamine and Dominique Fils-Aimé.
Living in the village
The objective of the new management is also to bring the musical offering to life more than ever in the setting of the village, located between the Saguenay fjord and the St. Lawrence estuary, in the hollow of a bay which is literally included on the list of “the most beautiful bays in the world”.
The programmer Anne-Christine Guy cites as examples the shows which will take place on the ferry which shuttles between Tadoussac and Baie-Sainte-Catherine, the Qualité Motel musical festival planned on the beach, the tours of the village or the tip of l’Islet, but also the return of services in the little-known Anglican chapel, built in the 19the century.
“It is important that the festival coexists with nature and its environment. Tadoussac is small, and this intimacy is an important element of the festival-goers’ experience. For example, going to see a kayak show at Anse à la Barque or at the Tadoussac dunes is at the heart of the Tadoussacian experience,” argues Myriam Sénéchal.
The signature formula of “Writing Paths” will also be back, for a 21e editing. Each year, a few emerging artists have the opportunity to perfect their art before the festival and to perform a few times during the weekend.
But we have also planned this year for several performances by artists who have been there over the years. “It’s a way of highlighting our history and the DNA of the festival, which has always placed great importance on texts, young artists and discoveries,” says the general director. The list includes 14 names, including Philippe Brach, P’tit Belliveau, Douance and Belle Grande Fille.
Is the bet nevertheless risky, weather-wise, if we rely on previous editions, where it was able to play disruptive elements for the technical team, but also for the festival-goers? Anne-Christine Guy and Myriam Sénéchal do not take offense, specifying that “plan Bs” are already planned for certain shows.
The June time window remains the best option, according to the programmer. “During the summer, the village becomes saturated with tourists. It would therefore be less pleasant to hold the festival in the middle of July, when in June, the village belongs to the festival-goers. This is what adds to the magic of the event. »
A way also to remain one of the first summer festivals in Quebec and to hope to attract 4,000 to 5,000 festival-goers again this year, despite the competition which has grown over the decades.