J Balvin, Post Malone, the Jonas Brothers, 50 Cent, Nickelback, Alexandra Stréliski, Mötley Crue and dozens of others: the lineup for the next Quebec Summer Festival has just been revealed and the eleven evenings promised to us , from July 4 to 14, will be varied and exciting.
The two weekends in July of the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ), from Thursday to Sunday, will offer several dozen shows of all kinds, between the reggaeton of J Balvin, the pop rock of the Jonas Brothers, the pop rap of Post Malone, the electro of Alan Walker, the hip-hop of 50 Cent and NAS, the neo-classical of Alexandra Stréliski or the rock of The Offspring.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE QUEBEC SUMMER FESTIVAL
The American Post Malone will give his only announced show in Canada on the Plains of Abraham, on July 12. A decision of which the FEQ organization is very proud, affirms Louis Bellavance, director of programming at the FEQ. The double bill of Latin music, with J Balvin headlining and Ivan Cornejo just before him on stage, also promises great things for the FEQ and its festival-goers. “We have never gone with such conviction [dans ce créneau], says the programming director. I can’t wait to see if the Quebec market will be there, if the community will travel and where they will come from. »
Rise Against, Nickelback, Loud Luxury, Zac Brown Band, Carly Ray Jepsen, Ben Howard and Fleet Foxes are added to the long list of international guests that can be seen on the Bell stage at the Plains of Abraham.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Alexandra Stréliski
The local section features just as many high-caliber artists, including Elisapie, Beyries, Elliot Maginot, Rymz, Martha Wainwright and The Franklin Electric. Karkwa, just like Alexandra Stréliski, will benefit from carte blanche offered by the FEQ. “We will have neo-classical enhanced with the carte blanche of Alexandra Stréliski. I know who works on the show and what they want to do, and I know that we are setting the table for a truly unique experience,” comments Louis Bellavance.
A hip-hop evening, on July 11, will welcome legendary rapper NAS. The Canadian TOBi, as well as Rymz, Mike Shabb & Nicholas Cravem and Vilent Ground will precede him. On the 14th, the day will be all Quebecois with Maten, Hauterine, Mara Tremblay in duo with Catherine Durand, Marie-Anick Lépine, Les Sœurs Boulay and, finally, Michel Rivard.
A “not easy” edition to assemble
This year, the festival that will be offered will have been “an obstacle course” to plan, confides Louis Bellavance. “We worked twice as hard for our goals. » Moreover, two boxes are still empty in the programming, due to last minute withdrawals.
But apart from the unforeseen events, it is the new standards in terms of fees which have notably contributed to making the work of the organization more difficult. “The price in theaters has risen spectacularly and that puts a lot of pressure on fees. We want to keep our tickets at reasonable prices. All of this creates challenges. »
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVES
Louis Bellavance, programming director of the Quebec Summer Festival
On the other hand, there is also a change in the pool of artists available to play at the festival. “It’s much thinner,” comments Louis Bellavance. Coming out of the pandemic, there were canceled artists to whom we owed shows and who owed us shows. It happened a bit on its own. This time, we built [la programmation] one artist at a time. »
All this will be worth it, believes the programmer, encouraged by the pre-sale, during which places for the FEQ flew away. “It wasn’t easy, but the result is there. This will all make sense this summer. »
More freebies
The FEQ’s diversified offering is not necessarily easy to achieve, but it is desirable and advantageous, explains Louis Bellavance. “Country music, for example, was trial and error,” he says. Seeing that we are solid in that, it opened doors to have country artists that we wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Same thing for Latin music: we hope to open doors for artists who can be in the top 3 Or top 4 of our guests. We know that Quebec is a rock city and we bring Nickelback, Mötley Crue, but we want something else. Diversity allows us to maintain our editions and to cover the 11 evenings. »
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Ariane Roy, Thierry Larose and Lou-Adriane Cassidy (The Roy The Rose and the Lou[p])
Let’s finally note something new for this 56e edition, while the festival seeks to “always evolve”: two free stages rather than one, with the return of Place D’Youville, which, in addition to the Hydro-Québec Stage, will host free shows for festival-goers. Here will perform notably, Helena Deland, Soraï, Mon Doux Saigneur, San James, ALIAS, Aysanabee and Population II.
Among the guests of the Hydro-Québec scene, we are waiting for the project Le Roy La Rose and Le Lou[p], the 5 of July. On the 7th, Vieux Farka Touré and the Congolese ensemble Kin’Gongolo Kinta will be there. On the 10th, Philippe Brach, preceded by Valence and Laurence-Anne, will take the stage located at the Place de l’Assemblee-Nationale, for an evening of French-speaking music.
Consult the complete program of the Quebec Summer Festival