From June 12 to 22, one of the most important festivals in North America featuring and celebrating the francophone song, Les FrancoFolies, will present some of the world’s best singers, songwriters and bands who will perform onstage in Montreal.
This year marks Montreal’s 26th FrancoFolies festival, and this week on A Propos you can hear music from Jim Corcoran’s favourite francophone singers and songwriters who will be featured at the 2014 event. For all the details of this year’s program, visit the FrancoFolies de Montréal’s website.
Some of the artists featured during the FrancoFolies festival are famous, while others are great discoveries. If a new or unknown artist makes a mark at the FrancoFolies fest, it could be a turning point in their career. It is a great opportunity to be in tune with all the creativity of francophone music today.
Among the truly exceptional local artists to watch for during this event, according to Corcoran, are Karim Ouellet, Alexandre Désilets, Radio Radio, Klô Pelgag, Sally Folk, Les Hay Babies and Salomé Leclerc. International artists such as Zaz, Catherine Ringer (from the Rita Mitsouko) and Rachid Taha will also be filling Montreal's finest concert venues.
And this year, one of the world's hottest francophone artists will be taking part in the festivities. Belgium’s Stromae will be at Montreal’s Bell Centre for two concerts. He is a megastar in Europe and also very famous in Quebec. His visit will be a huge event.
His irresistible rhythms, extremely touching lyrics and creativity are contagious.
“Even if you don’t speak a word of French, Stromae’s videos will blow you away,” says Corcoran. “His videos are nothing less than innovative, groundbreaking, inspired fragments of contemporary pop art.”
'Papoutai,' Stromae
'Tous les mêmes,' Stromae
Tune in and find out more about the artists who will be filling concert halls in some of Montreal's most popular venues during this year's FrancoFolies festival.
A Propos airs on Sunday at 4 p.m. (4:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Radio 2 and Saturday at 11 p.m. (6 p.m. AT, 6:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Radio One.