With headliners like Les Cowboys Fringants, Loud and Roxane Bruneau, the program for the next Festival international desrythmes du monde (FIRM) in Saguenay has disappointed many festival-goers and organizations, who deplore the lack of “rhythms of the world”. among the guest artists. They ask organizers to redo their homework or revise the name and mission of their event.
“Generalist festivals, such as the Francos de Montréal or the Festival d’été de Québec, are giving more and more importance to world music and, conversely, we have a festival specializing in this kind of music which, he makes less and less room for them. It makes no sense,” says Paméla Kamar, artistic director of Vision Diversité, an organization that produces and distributes mixed-race music artists, with dismay.
The FIRM unveiled last week the programming of its 21e edition, which will take place in August. Among the artists invited, the majority have nothing to do with “the rhythms of the world” and rather make music that they themselves qualify as pop, rap or rock.
An inconsistency that Internet users have not failed to point out on social networks. “Where are the rhythms of the world? », « Welcome to the Quebec Rhythms Festival ». While some expressed their enthusiasm at the idea of hosting big names in music from here, others expressed their disappointment at seeing the event turn into a generalist festival. “Your programming is magnificent, but I don’t think it reflects ‘the festival of the rhythms of the world before’, with the atmosphere of the South, Cuban, African, First Nations… It was so pleasant! wrote a festival-goer.
On its site, the FIRM nevertheless specifies that it was born “with the aim of promoting the music and rhythms of the world and to shape a craze for cultural diversity in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean”. It also states: “we carefully select the most rewarding artists, who promise to make our event one of the most diverse in terms of multiculturalism”.
“The programming does not reflect this desire to celebrate cultural diversity. We completely miss the mission, ”drops Pamela Kamar.
The festival fights back
Invited to respond to criticism, David Pilote, festival coordinator, talks about the vagueness surrounding the definition of “world music”. “It can be interpreted in different ways. There is a big gray area, ”he says. THE Duty asked him how many guest artists he thinks belong to the “world music” category. Answer: 8 out of 25. “It’s definitely not up to what we would have liked. »
He evokes the lack of availability of certain artists and the difficulty of attracting bigger names in this musical style. “They are more coveted and therefore more expensively paid. In 2018, the invitation of Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean resulted in a loss of money for the festival, he gives as an example. “And it happened with other artists. We must also think about the sustainability of the festival. »
The FIRM no longer has any choice, he says, but to appeal to the big names of “current trends” to attract festival-goers and continue “to highlight other cultures”. “Otherwise, we will end up with scenes with 20 people in front,” he explains. Is it doing a service to world music? No. »
In the eyes of Paméla Kamar, “the festival seems to find a lot of excuses”. “The Festival des traditions du monde de Sherbrooke has a superb program that really showcases world music and yet they too are in the region. »
“We could have made more efforts to find artists embodying the “rhythms of the world”. There is no shortage of them in Quebec and Canada. […] I understand the idea of having big names to attract festival-goers, but why not choose artists like Pierre Kwenders or Lido Pimienta,” adds Maude St-Amand Courcy, coordinator of the PRO experience at Mundial Montreal, a festival- showcase bringing together artists and music industry professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.
Change name?
Is it time for the FIRM to change vocation and name? In any case, this is the opinion of several festival-goers, who have suggested the idea on social networks, stressing that it has already been several years since the programming no longer reflects its name.
Pamela Kamar, of Vision Diversité, agrees. His organization used to work with the FIRM, which enabled him to bring local artists of mixed-race music to the stage. However, she ended this collaboration when the festival took a new tangent. “It was one of the most beautiful music festivals in the world in the region. Then they started picking bigger names in pop music to attract even more people. And finally, cultural diversity was relegated to the background. »
According to her, the festival has the right to want to change its vocation, but it would then have to change its name. “To say that it is world music is dishonest. This avenue, however, is not in the plans of David Pilote or his team.
Maude St-Amand Courcy hopes, for her part, that the criticisms will be heard and will allow the FIRM not to reinvent itself, but to reconnect with its initial mission.