PARIS – If one day you happen to land in Pont-du-Fossé, a village of a few hundred souls in the French Alps, you will find there, more than 6,000 kilometers from L’Assomption, a Karl-Tremblay place.
On the wall of the Walpine microbrewery (it was Karl himself, a great hops lover, who would be honored by the choice of the location), a plaque was unveiled, the 1er last December, two weeks after the death of the singer of Cowboys Fringants.
We can read: Place Karl Tremblay. Quebec singer. The Dashing Cowboys. 1976-2023.
The plaque in tribute to Karl Tremblay.
Photo provided by Quentin Duhaut
On Walpine’s Instagram account, you can find a short video of the unveiling of the plaque, first hidden behind a Quebec flag, in a festive atmosphere to the sound of the song Shooting Stars.
“A nice moment of communion to pay tribute to the favorite Quebecer of Champsaurins (the village is located in the Champsaur valley), Mr. Karl Tremblay. The stars were shining last night,” we can read on the Instagram post.
Quebec evening
The project is an initiative of a group of friends and true long-time fans of the Quebec group, who The newspaper met before a performance of the musical Royal PubSaturday, at the Grand Rex in Paris.
Loyal admirers of the Cowboys Fringants came from the Alps to see “Pub Royal”. From left to right, the guys are Quentin Duhaut, Jean Escalon, Pierre Robin, Christophe Zana and Pierre Sellier. At the front, Laura Meyer, Candice Khalaf and Élise Beauvois.
Photo Cédric Bélanger/Le Journal de Québec
Some of them were returning from a trip to Quebec to visit breweries there last fall when they learned of Karl’s death.
“The guys had planned to have a Quebec evening in their brasserie with a singer and poutine. In the delirium, we said to ourselves that the best tribute was to make a plaque and create our own place, Place Karl-Tremblay, which is located on the terrace of the brasserie,” says Christophe Zana.
Real ones
When we wrote above that this group of friends are Cowboys Fringants fans, it was an understatement.
They are real, the kind who have seen the group perform almost everywhere in the French-speaking world, including in Quebec, notably in Petite-Vallée. To see Royal Pubeight of them piled into a vehicle and drove for eight hours.
Photo from the Graham Hughes archives/AFP
They also perfectly embody the festive spirit of the Cowboys.
Saturday evening, during the intermission of Royal Pub, they remained in their seats singing and dancing while waiting for the second act to begin. As they left the Grand Rex, they once again sang Cowboys hits, made dozens of people gathered in front of the Grand Rex dance and clap their hands for several minutes.
“The Cowboys are part of our musical life,” summarizes Christophe Zana.
“I lost a piece of me”
Why love them so much?
“They talk about our daily lives, they talk about the emotions that are common to everyone, it brings people together and it doesn’t necessarily only talk about Quebec, it speaks to all French speakers,” explains Jean Escalon.
The death of Karl Tremblay, as we can imagine, was a hard blow. “I’m not an admirer of music to the point of idolizing people, but when Karl left, I lost a piece of me,” confides Pierre Sellier.
Like all Cowboys maniacs, they’re wondering what’s next. “There is an album coming out, but we wonder if the story will continue or not, if they will rebuild something to continue to bring us beautiful things,” notes Jean Escalon.
While waiting to discover it, there remain the songs, the memories and the friendships that have been forged throughout the French-speaking world thanks to the Cowboys Fringants.