The summer formula of the Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac being already a classic of the summer musical offer in Quebec, the organizers are betting on a second annual edition, this time in the fall. It remains to be seen to what extent the public will make their way to the gateway to the Côte-Nord to come and discover the festive and contemplative cocktail of the weekend.
“It’s a risky bet”, admits from the outset the general manager of the festival, Julien Pinardon, met when he was supervising the assembly of the site, located in the heart of the village. “But the atmosphere of autumn, last year, gave a very friendly and warm color. We felt it in the public and we had a lot of fun organizing it, ”he adds, recalling that we were nevertheless then subscribed to sanitary measures: wearing a mask, vaccination passport, disinfectant gel, etc. This context had not prevented the beautiful musical appointments, in particular with Pierre Flynn, Alex Burger and Fred Fortin.
Hence the idea of seeing if the formula can last, now that we fully assume a return to normality before COVID-19. From Friday to Sunday, there will therefore be 11 shows spread over two stages, an outdoor dome and the basement of the church. Between the two, we have planned a site dotted with campfires. “We improved the dome’s heating system,” says Julien Pinardon, laughing. “But there is a unifying side around campfires. »
The programming bears the usual signature of the festival, between festive shows (Qualité Motel and Hubert Lenoir, in particular) and more contemplative ones (Tire le Coyote and Matt Holubowski). All in an “even more intimate” formula than the summer edition, with for example a gauge of less than 170 people for the dome.
“This year is the real first edition, because there are no more health constraints. This is where we will see if it is viable and if there is interest from the public, but we would like to be able to do both editions in the next few years. We want people to come and discover the Côte-Nord during a less usual period. We feel that there is potential,” explains the man who runs the festival, which held its 38e summer edition.
The answer for this October edition is also “good”, underlines Julien Pinardon. Last-minute sales, however, are still a source of uncertainty for the organizers, who can accommodate around 400 people in the church basement for the show by Hubert Lenoir and Lydia Képinski.
Out of season
Matt Holubowski was not hard to convince, he says himself, specifying that his show at the festival will be the last of the album tour Weird Ones, released in the midst of a pandemic. “I really am a fall guy. I don’t particularly like summer and when I take vacations, it’s often in a chalet, in the woods, in the fall or in the winter. So I would do all the festivals in the fall. The temperature is so much more pleasant, but also the colors that we will see in Tadoussac. And my music is very introspective, so it goes really well with fall. »
Quality Motel, which hopes for its part to breathe a last jolt of summer on Saturday evening, despite the mercury barely above zero, welcomes the idea of inviting artists and the public to discover the village outside the usual season. sightseeing. “There will certainly be a different atmosphere from that of summer, but the road is beautiful and there is always the traditional crossing, before setting foot on the North Shore. It’s magnificent and we rarely have the opportunity to meet there in the fall”, argues France Basilic, a member of the group who already has a few participations to his credit.
According to him, we must therefore support the holding of this type of event outside the major centers and outside the summer festival season. “We must collectively support culture and get out of strict economic profitability. An event like this festival, which is held in the fall, will probably attract a little less public. But these are important small events, where people can experience something special, in an autumnal context. »