An unusually family atmosphere reigned Thursday at the press conference marking the kick-off of the 189e celebrations of the National Day of Quebec which was held in the presence of the Minister of Culture and Communications and the Mayor of Montreal. What brought everyone together? Beau Dommage, who was honored by the Mouvement national des Québécoises and Québécois, and who was the subject of a heartfelt tribute.
It’s not for nothing that National Day celebrations revolve around music: it has the power to bring people together. This is even more true of the songs of Beau Dommage, which knew how to speak to everyone, in a language and with images that were both poetic and familiar, as the author Simon Boulerice underlined in an eloquent tribute composed for underline the attribution of the National Day Artisan prize to the famous group. The reactions in the Plaza Theater room left no doubt: everyone had their own story with the songs evoked by their words or played by Zébulon and the singer Amylie.
The seven members of Beau Dommage were there to receive this award, which highlights the influence and impact of an artist on Quebec culture, in the presence of the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, and the Minister of Culture and Communications, Matthew Lacombe. Thus, for this rare occasion, Marie-Michèle Desrosiers was again surrounded by her former accomplices Pierre Bertrand, Pierre Huet, Réal Desrosiers, Michel Hinton, Robert Léger and, of course, Michel Rivard. Even Valérie Plante, who dreamed of Montreal while listening to the songs of Beau Dommage in her native Abitibi, said she was “stressed” to have to make a speech in front of these artists with almost legendary status.
sing in french
“Beau Dommage was a school,” said Michel Rivard, on behalf of himself and his colleagues. It was perhaps the only school where you could be both student and teacher, because we learned our trade from each other. One day you could learn a guitar chord, the next a new way to rhyme or do vocal harmonies. It was all to learn. »
We had given ourselves the mission of doing in French what our idols from elsewhere in the world were doing, this type of music that we loved so much.
Michael Rivard
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PHOTO VICTOR DIAZ LAMICH, PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT OF QUEBECERS
Pierre Bertrand pointed out that many of Beau Dommage’s songs began with a text, hence the importance that the group attached to them.
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PHOTO VICTOR DIAZ LAMICH, PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT OF QUEBECERS
Mayor Valérie Plante paid tribute to Beau Dommage by telling how she had discovered Montreal through the group’s songs.
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PHOTO VICTOR DIAZ LAMICH, PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT OF QUEBECERS
Michel Rivard shows off his Artisan award, designed by sculptor Armand Vaillancourt.
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On the sidelines of the ceremony, Pierre Bertrand and Robert Léger insisted on the importance given to the French – or rather Quebec – language in their approach. “Writing in French and playing with words was very important. Make the language sound too,” said Pierre Bertrand, rejoicing that Beau Dommage succeeded – to put it mildly – “a couple of times”.
Touched by a tribute which testified, he underlined, to an intimate knowledge and a great understanding of the group’s universe, Robert Léger said he regretted that the gesture of singing in French no longer seemed to come from a natural and spontaneous desire. “At the time, we just thought it was exciting,” he says. We weren’t doing it to look virtuous or politically correct, we were doing it because we were having fun. »
This tribute to Beau Dommage occupied most of the event organized to mark the kick-off of the next celebrations of the national holiday under the theme Enter the dance. As is the case every year, hundreds of small and large celebrations will take place in all corners of Quebec and will allow citizens to take part in one of the some 5,000 activities ranging from alley parties to large-scale shows presented in Quebec and Montreal, passing by the tables of neighbors and the fireworks.
PHOTO VICTOR DIAZ LAMICH, PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT OF QUEBECERS
Léanne Labrèche-Dor will write and deliver the patriotic speech on June 23 on the Plains of Abraham.
Actress Léanne Labrèche-Dor succeeds her father Marc Labrèche as spokesperson and author of the patriotic speech she will deliver on June 23 on the Plains of Abraham. She announced the colors in a word that testified to her great concern for all Quebecers. ” I will [faire ce discours] with all the admiration I have for all the people who put their hands in our machines and in our land, who work in Quebec and who all deserve to be celebrated, she said.
“With the admiration I have for women who get up at dawn to breastfeed, she continued, and drag queens who smash doors to open books and open minds. With the admiration I have for the artists who will sing and put their sweat all over the stage, rain or shine and shine. »