Plains of Songs | Finally, a real celebration of our song

As soon as a supercharged DJ took his place around 7 p.m., playing French hits, we knew it was going to be a big one. party. Already, thousands of people invaded the Plains of Abraham to attend the spectacle. Plains of songsas part of the SuperFrancoFête 2024.

This event, which marked the 50th^e anniversary of the legendary show I saw the wolf, the fox, the lionWho had brought together Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault and Robert Charlebois on stage in the same place in 1974, I wouldn’t have missed it for all the gold in the world.

Think about it! Robert Charlebois (the wolf from the 1974 event), Diane Dufresne, Claude Dubois, Paul Piché, Pierre Lapointe, Hubert Lenoir, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Patrice Michaud, Les Trois Accords, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Ariane Roy, Sarahmée, Souldia, Gab Bouchard, Thierry Larose, Kanen, Pierre Kwenders, Jay Scøtt, Simon Kearney and others gathered on the same stage with a dozen musicians, dancers and acrobats.

Marjo, who was supposed to take part in the show, cancelled her appearance. “Rest assured, she is fine,” said the presenter.

The show started slowly with People of my country performed uncertainly by several headliners. For this song, already not easy to sing, we had chosen a key that did not seem to suit everyone. But when Vigneault arrived (on video), we forgot all that and the chills came.

Then Charlebois moved up to fifth with his irresistible Between two joints accompanied on guitar by Simon Kearney and Gab Bouchard. The latter then gave us his hit Dump in the company of Marie-Pierre Arthur. It was there that we felt the rich presence of the nine musicians (including brass) and four choristers. The Plains were inhabited.

I won’t have enough of this text to talk about all the songs that were performed. There were nearly 35. But among the good moments, there were Kundah by Ariane Roy with her two good friends Lou-Adriane Cassidy and Thierry Larose. This trio is dynamite.

The arrival of Claude Dubois in a forest setting and on the intro of Gallery hunt triggered hysteria in the crowd. He was joined by Pierre Lapointe. This duo was a good example of the unlikely marriages imagined by the director Benoit Landry and the artistic and musical director Alex McMahon. The latter also did a remarkable job with the arrangements.

We stayed in this universe of fables and dreams with Béatrice Deer and Sylvia Cloutier, who, face to face, performed captivating throat singing. We didn’t know that it was the intro toOxygenby the imperial Diane Dufresne. This airy version is one of the most beautiful I have heard of this song, which is nevertheless very popular.

The enormous ambition (more than 35 songs) of this show was, however, its main weakness. After an hour, the surprise effects became rarer. The interest of the public somewhat waned.

Fortunately, we were able to count on Hubert Lenoir, Pierre Lapointe and Marie-Pierre Arthur, Sarahmée, dancers and around thirty extras to get the machine going again by offering an absolutely stunning version of the Artists’ Cafe Cat. It was the craziest moment of the evening. Jean-Pierre Ferland can rest in peace. The younger generation is taking good care of his song.

The largest karaoke in the Plains

After promising the public that they would continue to hear Quebec songs in these enchanting places for the next 50 years, Patrice Michaud surrounded himself with several artists who offered the public the biggest karaoke in the Plains.

There will always be, Thousand after thousand, December 23, America Day, The main street, For an instant, Madness in four, America is crying, When men will live on love got the tens of thousands of spectators singing along. Quebecers love their songs. And it shows.

We had even more proof of this when Paul Piché launched There’s not much in the sky tonight. He came out completely stunned. He then transported our emotions to the antipodes with The staircasea song that has the effect of bringing tears to your eyes.

We were not at the end of our emotions. With Love still existsPierre Lapointe and Pierre Kwenders have brought many lovers into an embrace. Diane Dufresne, with theHymn to the beauty of the worldcompleted this portion rich in emotions.

Then it was the party ! Two by two gathered together, 1990 And Nobody’s daughter ! What do you say to that? Not enough? OK, we’ll add The Three Agreements (Shoplifting And Corinne) and Robert Charlebois and his eternal Lindberg with acrobats twirling above him and in the crowd! A moment of breathtaking beauty!

There you can go to bed.

This event was a true (and rare) celebration of our song. It recalled the great events of Mount Royal, in 1975 and 1976. Far be it from me to denigrate the efforts put into the preparation of the shows of the national holiday, which benefit from more than modest means, but there, we were at a higher level.

The difference between this show and the one that took place 50 years ago lies in its great diversity. This diversity was everywhere. In musical styles, cultural origins, genders and sexual orientations. In this sense, this event is an accurate portrait of Quebec in 2024.

Despite the high quality of the acts, the audience’s attention was not complete. This was noticeable during the softer songs, performed on the piano, for example. We could hear a lot of loudmouths in the audience. Hey thing, if you want to chat loudly while drinking your beer, go to a terrace on the Grande Allée!

Big means

This show, produced by SISMYK, the musical division of ComediHa!, had big resources. The budget was around $4 million, I was told. The Quebec government, a partner in this project, was represented by the Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge. Before the show, he presented a video with François Legault. His message was booed by the audience.

In 2022, when the concept of SuperFrancoFête was brought back to Quebec, I was very critical. At that time, it was just a TV show aimed largely at the French. And with limited access for viewers. I thought it was a bit too much!

Two years later, the SuperFrancoFête took the form of two major events (tribute to Starmania And The great concert of the Francophonie), a series of shows with artists from all walks of life and a mega event that celebrates Quebec song.

Of course we couldn’t put all the Quebec artists in this already very generous program. Still, people like Michel Rivard, Louise Forestier, Pierre Flynn, Gilles Valiquette, Claude Gauthier, Ariane Moffat, Louis-Jean Cormier, Émile Bilodeau, Alex Nevsky would have deserved to be there.

What if this SuperFrancoFête show became a summer tradition? What if once a year, we celebrated our song in style by linking generations and styles? That would be the best gift to give him. Sorry, to give us!

The show Plains of songs will be broadcast on September 14 on Télé-Québec.

The hosting costs for this report were paid by the SuperFrancoFête organization, which had no say in the publication of this article.