The organization of the Francouvertes emerging competition lifted the veil Monday evening on the programming of its 28e edition, which will officially begin on March 11 at the Lion d’Or — as well as in four small venues in the province, where the performances will be broadcast on the big screen thanks to an unprecedented collaboration with the association Les Scènes de musique alternatives du Quebec (SMAQ). If a musical trend emerges from the 21 competitors, believes director Sylvie Courtemanche, “it is in their way of covering the spectrum of pop music”.
Let’s dissect: in the list, a majority of artistic projects unknown to the battalion, a handful of others having already won fans. This is the case of the multidisciplinary artist Soleil Launière, who launched her first album last October, Taueu, on the Musique nomade label. Originally from Mashteuiatsh, the musician with Innu roots is one of the two First Nations representatives at the Francouvertes, with the folk-rock singer-songwriter Sakay Ottawa, of Attikamek origin.
We will also note the name of Karolan Boily: the alternative pop-rock singer-songwriter launched last month a first and captivating album, entitled Fire under the roof. The singer of the rock group Double Date With Death, Vincent Khouni, embarked on a solo adventure last fall by unveiling his first, more folk songs, grouped together on the mini-album 8:12PM.
Similar solo approach for the singer-songwriter Zéa Calla, who made it to the semi-finals of the Francouvertes in 2020 as part of the duo La Fièvre. Finally, let’s also note the presence of Sandra Contour, who, after reaching the final of Cabaret Festif! (from Baie-Saint-Paul), won the Singer-Songwriter section of the Ma Première Place des Arts competition last month.
For this 28e edition of Francouvertes, the organization seizes the opportunity to rethink its distribution on two levels. First, the association with Les SMAQ will allow fans of new music to discover the work of competitors at Espace Mandeville (Drummondville), Café du Clocher (Alma), La Pointe Sec (Mont-Louis) and Le Griffon cultural center (Gaspé). Other parallel scenes could be added to the program in the coming weeks.
Then, for all those who cannot travel to Montreal or to the participating venues, the Francouvertes organization has decided to offer access to the live webcast of the evenings, still via lepointdevente.com. On the other hand, Internet users wishing to participate in the public vote will have to purchase a ballot online.
“We are taking a great risk with this gesture,” says Sylvie Courtemanche. During the pandemic year, the webcast attracted a lot of spectators since we could not accommodate spectators in theaters. The following year, online broadcasting remained popular, but then spectators returned to theaters and therefore abandoned webcasting, which still attracted between 60 and 100 pairs of eyes and ears per evening. “However, people who listen online are often interested in a particular artist,” explains the director. By making online distribution free, we are betting that these people will discover all the artists, and even that they will buy a ballot to participate in the competition. It can only help the visibility of musicians. »
Twenty-one groups and artists will perform at the Lion d’Or in the coming weeks, starting with Fantômes, Collation and the rock group Princesses on March 11. Maud Evelyne, Paruline and Soleil Launière will follow (March 12); Corail, Karolan Boily and Folaube (March 18); Vincent Khouni, Nectar Palace and Loïc Lafrance (March 19); Sandra Contour, Sakay Ottawa and Patrick Bourdon (March 25); Sensei H, The Blaze and Late Flowering (March 26); and finally, Le Belladonna, Zéa Calla and La Monarque (March 27). Each evening will be inaugurated with a performance by a former candidate, such as Laurence-Anne, Anatole, Vendou, Mon Doux Saigneur and Samuele.