Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) kicked off yesterday on July 4th and will host musicians until the 14th. The 12-day festival happens in Québec City every July and has been a staple for Canadians since 1968. It draws millions of fans each year to see their favorite live music acts.
FEQ is different from the U.S. music festivals we know and love. The usual U.S. festivals take place for three to four days over weekends where music plays all day and all night. FEQ in Canada mainly takes place in the evenings, therefore spanning across many more days.
The Festival has six stages spread around downtown Québec, a city that is both safe and very walkable. This year the lineup has almost 200 artists spanning across all genres that are ready to take to the stage. We arrived for Day 1 of the festivities just in time to see some great artists.
On the Bell Stage, Canadian rock singer JJ Wilde brought her rock and roll spirit. The singer wore a fashionable denim cropped cardigan and denim shorts as she took the stage to perform for thousands of fans. She performed a total of ten songs including some of her top hits like “The Rush” and “Take Me Back.” Her chill stage presence was in opposition to her hard rock vocals.
Next we saw Arkells, an Ontario based alternative rock band that has gained a lot of popularity since their conception in 2006. The band brought their energy to the Bell Stage at 20h/8pm where they played eleven songs. They opened with their newest single “Big Feelings” that got the crowd jumping.
Lead singer Max Kerman wore an army green coat and shorts embroidered with flowers. At one point he jumped off stage with bands members and sang to the crowd against the barricade walls. He also told the packed crowd that the band may be headed to Paris to represent Canada at the upcoming Olympics and asked the crowd for tips for how to greet fans in French.
Arkells also did a fun cover of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” a run through of the politically motivated “Knocking at the Door,” and closed out their set with one of their most popular songs “Leather Jacket,” hyping up the crowd for the headliner.
The night’s main attraction was Nickelback, the uber popular rock band across all of North America, especially in their home country of Canada. Their set included fourteen songs as well as two encore tunes. The band played hit after hit. The crowd chanted along to some of their most popular classics “Rockstar” and “How You Remind Me.” The group brought out fellow singer Talk on the song “Rockstar” and during a cover of Talk’s “Run Away to Mars.”
Nickelback also brought out Max Kerman of Arkells to sing a cover of “Hero” by Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott. Lead singer and guitarist Chad Kroeger rocked out on his guitar alongside his bandmates guitarist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair.
Stay tuned for more inside looks at Festival d’été de Québec 2024!
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig