Kick off, first try, blow in the water? The bets are open. Do you know how to handle a lasso anywhere other than in Saint-Tite and in the western festivals all over Quebec? More specifically, does country music as it has been produced in recent years in Nashville correspond to our taste? new country, anyone ?
“The idea, clearly, is to get out of the traditional country western festival as we know it and which is very well established across the province,” agrees Ariane Ouellet of the Mountain Daisies, her duo with Carl Prévost, whose new album to be released on September 9 is very deliberately in line with “new country”. The tandem, that The duty follows from the time when his mission was to support the unmanageable (and brilliant) Stephen Faulkner as much as possible, began the shift to Nashville-la-Neuve just before the pandemic, and his project came to fruition almost at the same time as this first shot of LASSO. Mountain Daisies are on the program. “It’s a coincidence that isn’t quite a coincidence,” she explains on the phone. “The festival was supposed to start last year, the pandemic postponed everything. In fact, LASSO is joining us! Small laugh. “Let’s say it goes well…”
Not the same thing
“It’s not a question of denigrating the western festivals here,” she adds. It’s huge in Quebec, THE real industry underground, due to lack of visibility in the media and major cities. The Montreal view of the phenomenon could be similar to our way of describing campgrounds: a bit pejorative, a tad scornful, at most pleasant and good-natured leisure. “For the artists, it’s a joy, these festivals, a whole journey, a great tradition! But that’s something else that LASSO offers. »
I really think they want to tell people that these are major shows, with real headliners, including some artists from here, somewhat in the same proportion as in Osheaga. For us, this is quite an opportunity!
For decades, the major American country tours had bypassed Quebec: if not a Garth Brooks, a Shania Twain or a Taylor Swift, we considered that it was not worth the detour. Presenting LASSO on the field of Osheaga (dressed country for the occasion), with two short weeks apart, is a gesture not at all insignificant, nor only a practical strategy. Ariane Ouellet affirms it: we play big because we think at Evenko that it will be big. “I really think they want to let people know that these are shows major players, with real headliners, including a few artists from here, somewhat in the same proportion as in Osheaga. For us, this is quite an opportunity! »
Know how to convince
Who can name hit songs by Dierks Bentley, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Luke Bryan and Matt Lang? Better, sing the refrains? At the Festival d’été de Québec last month, the Luke Combs–Matt Lang evening on the Plains was a resounding success. “We shouldn’t minimize their potential appeal,” stresses Ariane. They’re used to big shows, and they have their fans. And above all, they know how to convince. Wait to see them in action, it brews! »
There will also be Léa Jarry in the program, as well as Sara Dufour. Admittedly, at the more modest Ranch scene, and only a short half hour, but hey. Programmers, on this, have something to learn. Sara Dufour, like the Salebarbes group, is triumphing everywhere this summer, and she could perfectly have filled Parc Jean-Drapeau on her own.
Hurricane Sara
“Do I really correspond to the criteria of what is called new country? asks the irreducible and fiery Sara Dufour without pretending. ” I do not know. I’m not in the same zone as Matt Lang. Does being a francophone, a woman, count in their calculations? I prefer to think it’s because my gang and me, we put on a really energetic show, and people respond. We are almost ready. »
“It’s been a dream year, what I’m going through,” she continues, verbose and enthusiastic. “The first part of the Cowboys Fringants, France, shows all the time. It’s crazy, when you think that the album was released three and a half years ago: I still have 49 shows on the go in the next three months. And we refused a lot of business: you can’t play two places, or three, or four, at the same time! So I take as many as I can, and I’m absolutely flattered to have been chosen among some big names in Nashville country. She giggles, as if buttering it a bit thickly, while being unmistakably delighted and fully assuming herself. “The half hour we have, we’re going to make the most of it. »