Festival d'ete de Quebec, Canada
Backstreet Boys. Muse. Pierce the Veil. Tony Allen. Pink. Kendrick Lamar. Flume. Metallica. Gorillaz.
A random list of bands, or a festival lineup?
I can’t imagine Australia having one festival that included all these bands, let alone hosting a ten day festival with ten stages for $90 per person, but in Quebec City that’s just how they roll. And they’ve been rolling for a while - this year is the 50th year of Festival d’ete de Quebec!
The festival is split between ten stages across the city, and the biggest stage alone can hold up to 100,000 people in the crowd. It’s actually the largest stage of its kind in North America and is located on the historic Plains of Abraham, which was the site of a huge battle back in 1759. Quebec City is filled with so much history, being the only UNESCO heritage listed city north of Mexico. Walking around the walled city, it almost feels as if you’ve stepped into Europe. It's crazy! Crazy awesome.
I only had time to head to Quebec City for three nights, but I definitely made the most of it! Headlining those three nights was Kendrick Lamar, Pink and Backstreet Boys, but it’s not all about the headliners, right?
I actually skipped Kendrick Lamar’s set, as I’d seen him at Byron Bluesfest in 2016 and there was someone else I really wanted to see. Tony Allen. He’s the legend who was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti’s band Africa 70 back in the late 60s and early 70s, and the man who has been touted as the co-founder of Afrobeat music. But it wasn’t afrobeat wafting from the stage this week, because this show was a tribute to one of Tony Allen’s first idols. Art Blakely is the inventor of the modern super-energetic be-bop style, and Tony Allen gave him a big nod with his quartet that was brought together just for this festival. It was smooth, it was sweet, and let me tell you, Tony Allen is still going strong at 77 years old!
Discovering new music always gives me a buzz, and Festival d’ete de Quebec was full of it - in a good way! Gypsy Sound System Orkestra are a six piece that includes an accordian, guitar, drums, keys, saxophone, two vocalists and some electronic beats. It’s an interesting mash up of big fun gypsy music and hip hop, and I absolutely love their description of their style, which is ‘slave salsa, electro-flamenco, brass madness and electric foxtrot’. Hah! They were super fun, looked great onstage in colourful outfits, and had the crowd following along with their dance moves. They even rounded out their set with a big drum and bass tune, which I gotta say, I did not see coming.
Another of my favourite finds was a soul band from Barcelona called The Excitements. The band was super tight, and their front woman was full of energy and sass. Koko-Jean Davis is her name (amazing name!) and she mentioned onstage that she was supposed to be in hospital, but wouldn’t miss their first ever North American show, so she was at the festival instead. She had a stool onstage to sit on, but still managed to belt out some big tunes and pull some pretty impressive dance moves! I’m not entirely sure what her injury was, but she was holding on to her side at times during the show, and as she walked offstage seemed to double over in pain. Honestly if she hadn’t said anything I would never have known that she had an injury. If that’s how much energy she exudes on a bad day I’d love to see her on a good one!
Local Toronto band Birds of Bellwoods were interesting to see, too. They are a five-piece folk band that reminded me of a mix between Mumford and Sons and Half Moon Run. They are a pretty young band, but I’ll be interested to see where they go next.
Samito was the winner of the Emerging Artist award last year, and was an interesting mix of electronica and roots music. He’s a singer, songwriter and producer based in Montreal, but his roots go back to Mozambique and Portugal. As such, he sings in four different languages, fluctuating between crooning soul tunes and high energy dance floor fillers. He. Was. Great. His debut album came out last year, and I can’t wait to see what he’s doing next. Absolute gold.
And yes, I did go to see Backstreet Boys and Pink… When in Quebec, right? Do you need to know what it was like? Pink was awesome, so full of energy and she seemed like a really genuine performer. It was only her second live show in four years, but she didn’t seem rusty at all. Backstreet Boys were full of cheesy lines, coordinated dance moves and multiple costumes changes. I didn’t make it through their entire set, and I spent the first few songs laughing hysterically at all the women who were screaming and losing their minds. Backstreet were never my era, and I only knew about three songs in the hour that I stayed to watch, so I’m probably not the best to judge those guys!
Honestly, I didn’t want to leave Quebec City. Between the festival and the city itself there was so much more I wanted to discover. Fingers crossed I can get back there another year!
But it’s time to move on and head to the next festival in this adventure! Vancouver Folk Music Festival, here I come!
Sarah Howells, Festival Hunter, signing off.
