Day 3 of Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) was another success, with still eight more days of music to go. Today was a case of dueling stages of pop and metalcore music with the Jonas Brothers on the main Bell Stage, and hard rock legends Killswitch Engage on the Loto-Québec Stage at virtually the same time.
We started our evening with Diamond Cafe on the Bell Stage at 19h00/7p.m. Headlined by British Columbian musician Tristan Thompson, this synth-R&B group played some favorites from their four EP albums. Thompson got his groove on in a slick black leather jacket, a nearly unbuttoned black shirt, and blue jeans.
Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen got the crowd jumping with her up-beat songs in an all pink leotard composed of intricate crochet and embroidered flowers. Her set was full of a total of 16 songs that seamlessly mixed together her older and newer sounds. Jepsen opened with “Psychedelic Switch” from her most recent album The Loveliest Time, squeezed in the fan-favorite and highly recognizable “Call Me Maybe”, and ended with “Cut to the Feeling.”
After Carly, we ran over and made sure we caught the all-women’s 90’s heavy metal band Kittie on the SiriusXM Stage. The Ontario natives opened with the live debut of their song “Fire” and a slew of songs that haven’t been played live since 2011 at the earliest. Kittie ended with what has become a nu-metal anthem “Brackish,” closing out the night with some feminist rage.
A little after 21h00/9p.m., metalcore band Killswitch Engage came onto the Loto- Québec Stage. Their incredible riffs and aggressive vocals could be heard across Parc de la Francophonie. Surrounded by flashing lights and shooting flames, the group opened with their all time top song, “My Curse,” that riled the crowd up for the rest of their set. They continued on to play a song from nearly every one of their eight studio albums including some fan favorites like “The End of Heartache” and their cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.”
The famous American pop-rock band the Jonas Brothers came onto the Bell Stage at 21h30/9:30p.m. After a six-year split between the brothers and a subsequent hiatus on the band, the brothers reunited and have been on the road ever since. Tens of thousands of fans gathered on the Plains of Abraham to see Kevin, Joe, and Nick play some of their favorite hits.
The band emerged at the back of the stage on a platform singing “Celebrate” to the massive crowd. The band played 23 songs together including songs from Nick’s solo-career, Joe’s band DNCE, and covers from other artists. Other hits performed during the night included: “What A Man Gotta Do”, “Close” and “Sucker” with lead vocals rotating between the three brothers.
Keep an eye out for our recap of our next day at FEQ. There’s some more amazing artists in the next eight days that we will be sure to highlight.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig