Cultural summer | Our playlist

A host of artists from here and elsewhere will visit the four corners of the province during the summer. Here is a playlist that includes some of them.

Thierry Larose, Knots in the fingers

We can see Thierry Larose in a few festivals this summer, including the Francos de Montréal and the Festif! of Baie-Saint-Paul. The young singer-songwriter from Quebec, who caused a stir two years ago with his first album Cantalouwill also perform the songs of Sprint!, fiery second album that may have been launched during the winter, but which exudes a joyful and highly summery energy. Hard to resist anyway Knots in the fingersits slightly retro chansonnier spirit and its melody that we could listen to on repeat until the end of the summer.

Josee Lapointe, The Press

Extract of Knots in the fingersby Thierry Larose

Rick Ross, BMF

For more than 15 years, Rick Ross has been one of America’s most prominent rappers. He has released ten albums, three compilations on his Maybach Music Group label and collaborated with all the major artists on the hip-hop scene of recent years, including Drake, Jay-Z and Kanye West. The 47-year-old Floridian’s production has dwindled recently – although he has contributed to the huge success God Did, by DJ Khaled – as he would attempt to become mayor of Fayetteville, Georgia, where he now resides. Rozay will still be the main artist of the 40^e International balloon festival in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, August 18. Koriass, Jay Scøtt, Marie-Gold and Emma Beko will also be at the festival on the same day.

Pascal LeBlanc, The Press

Extract of BMFby Rick Ross

GloRilla, Lick or Sum

With his low voice, his irresistible Memphis accent and his flow jerky, GloRilla has several assets that set it apart. With more than 4.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify, the 23-year-old rapper continues her ascent with each of her releases. The very sexual Lick or Sum, launched last Tuesday, should contribute to the phenomenon. The room FNF (Let’s Go) is the source of his initial success and even earned him a citation at the last Grammy gala. His collaboration with Cardi B, Tomorrow 2, has accumulated nearly 100 million plays, while those with Lil Durk total about twenty million. It will also precede the latter on July 11, at the Festival d’été de Québec. Montrealer Naya Ali and Vancouverite BBNO$ will also be on the Plains of Abraham that same evening.

Pascal LeBlanc, The Press

Extract of Lick or Sumby GloRilla

Natalia Lafourcade Hasta la Raiz

Yes, the two shows by the Mexican superstar presented at the Maison symphonique by the Jazz Festival are sold out – it’s a big coup to have her scheduled in Montreal as part of her tour that takes her from Paris. in Buenos Aires. But that doesn’t stop us from listening to his greatest hit, Hasta la Raiz (2015), as well as an anthology of his songs which for 20 years have drawn as much from the traditional music of his country as from jazz and pop. We savor the softness of the voice and the elegance of the arrangements, and we let the warm summer wind do the rest.

Josee Lapointe, The Press

Extract of Hasta la Raizby Natalia Lafourcade

The War on Drugs, I Don’t Live Here Anymore

An invitation that we will not miss: that of the group led by the self-taught Adam Granduciel. Head to the MTELUS on July 14, or the Festival d’été de Québec the next day, to hear the – already – classic pieces by the group The War on Drugs that are Red Eyes, Bread, Under Pressure and especially I Don’t Live Here Anymoretitle track of his exceptional album released in 2021. This song alludes both to the journey of migrants and to hearts in love – yes, it is possible – and makes us think of certain pieces by Bob Dylan and the glam-rock heard in the 1980s.

Philippe Beauchemin, The Press

Excerpt fromI Don’t Live Here Anymorefrom The War on Drugs

Lionel Richie, All Night Long

The word “nostalgia” sounds like a sad song. There will, of course, be soulful tunes when Lionel Richie hits the Bell Center stage this summer, but there will also be some kicking ass beats. Especially since the former Commodores performs in a double bill with Earth Wind & Fire, also author of huge funk hits imbued with soul. If all these beautiful people are still in voice, it will do the partyTHE karamu and the party maybe not “forever” as in the song, but for a great part of this evening of August 9!

Alexandre Vigneault, The Press

Excerpt fromAll Night Longby Lionel Richie

Madonna, Music

You don’t need to have liked Madonna’s last or penultimate record, or even the other before, to want to see her on stage again. Her repertoire includes enough songs to be sure that the Bell Center will once again be transformed into a dance floor in August, and twice rather than once since she will be performing there on August 19 and 20. His music, more than that of many others, brings people together. Still and always.

Alexandre Vigneault, The Press

Extract of Musicby Madonna

Zombie Life My Heart, My disco sweater (feat. Lou-Adriane Cassidy)

Lou-Adriane Cassidy’s program for the summer? “Kiss, fly, dance, abandon myself to the tempo”, she lists in My disco sweateran irresistible invitation to indulge yourself drawn fromHatch in the morning, the first album from Jean-Bruno Pinard’s Zombie Life Mon Cœur project (which will open for Marjo at the Francos on June 9). For the mixer and producer (who worked with Les Louanges), it’s as if Quebec pop had never been so exhilarating as when Mitsou and Les BB were dominating the charts. A point of view that he defends brilliantly in the company of a scintillating team of guests, including Anatole, Laurence-Anne, Alex Burger, N Nao and Lumière.

Dominic Tardif, The Press

Extract of My disco sweaterfrom Zombie Life My Heart

White Reaper, fog machine

Foo Fighters, best American band on the planet? It is rather the formation with which the team of Dave Grohl will share the poster on July 8 at the Festival d’été de Québec, White Reaper, which claims this title, if we must at least trust the title of its second album released in 2017 (The World’s Best American Band). Less pretentious than full of self-mockery, the band from Kentucky certainly embodies a (sadly) outdated idea of ​​rock as a vector of six-string solos that you can hum and refrains designed to finish your beer in two sips. Think Cheap Trick, but with the power of the twin guitar attacks that Thin Lizzy once used to take us by the collar.

Dominic Tardif, The Press

Extract of fog machineby White Reaper

Lana Del Rey, A&W

Lana Del Rey will finally be with us, next July 15, at the Festival d’été de Québec, after eight years without stopping in the province, despite the many albums she has given us since. The interpreter of Video Games released a new record in 2023, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, a magnificent opus of orchestral ballads. After four releases in less than four years, the prolific and talented American artist, who hasn’t toured since 2019, should offer a fabulous show filled with all the superb songs she has produced since, but also her classics. , which have become landmark nostalgic anthems.

Marissa Groguhe, The Press

Excerpt fromA&Wby Lana Del Rey

Drake (with 21 Savage), Rich Flex

Canadian pride if ever there was one, Drake never misses the opportunity to drop by Montreal (he even came to the metropolis last year for a few minutes on stage with Lil Baby during the Metro Metro festival). On July 14 and 15, he will present two concerts in a row at the Bell Center as part of his tour It’s All a Blur. After Certified Lover Boy (2021), Honestly, Nevermind (2022) and the collaborative album HerLoss (2022) which he co-signs with 21 Savage, the Toronto rapper will have something to delight his loyal admirers.

Marissa Groguhe, The Press

Extract of Rich Flexby Drake (with 21 Savage)

Delgres, watch out

The Franco-Guadeloupean hard blues group is making two stops in Quebec this summer, first at the Tremblant International Blues Festival on July 13 before doing it again three days later at the Quebec Summer Festival. This is an opportunity to hear the pieces of the superb 4:00 AM, launching in 2021, but certainly also some of the next disc which is due to launch later this year. A unique blend of blues, rock, Creole and Cajun rhythms, Delgrès aims to be the festive meeting of France, the West Indies and the United States. A must see.

Pierre-Marc Durivage, The Press

Excerpt from watch outfrom Delgres

Death Cab For Cutie, Asphalt Meadows

Ben Gibbard’s gang comes to Quebec only once as part of the tour Asphalt Meadows and it will be at the Festivent de Lévis, on August 4th. It will in fact be the first show in seven years on Quebec soil for the American group, which has shown that it is still at the top of its game with its most recent album launched last September. Death Cab For Cutie is an example of the Festivent’s big catches in 2023, which celebrates its 40th anniversary by also hosting Walk The Moon, Matt Lang, Third Eye Blind, The Franklin Electric, Live, Our Lady Peace, FouKi and Alicia Moffet.

Pierre-Marc Durivage, The Press

Excerpt fromAsphalt Meadowsfrom Death Cab for Cutie