Days five and six of Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) were full of great artists, a little rain, and an eventful musical announcement. We were excited to see some artists we have never seen before and learn what they’re all about. We checked out artists in pop, rock, and folk genres across the Bell Stage, SiriusXM Stage, and the Loto-Québec Stage.
July 8th, Day 5
At 20h00/8 p.m. Canadian Inuk musician Elisapie brought the Inuktitut language to the crowds in Québec. The singer, dressed in an all pink outfit with pink tassels hanging from her sleeves performed seven cover songs and three original songs. All of the cover songs like Fleetwood Macs’ “Dreams” and “Heart of Glass” by Blondie were translated into her native language which made for a unique musical experience.
Québec native Alexandra Stréliski was last to perform on the Bell Stage. The neo-classical musician, composer, and pianist wore an all pink suit to match her bubbly personality. Alexandra played out some beautiful piano pieces from her album Néo-Romance and ended with one of her favorite songs to play, “Umbra.” At the end of her performance, she dove into the crowd to body-surf over her fans.
Over on the Loto-Québec Stage American band Mt. Joy provided the crowd with some chill folk rock sounds. The four-piece band performed with entrancing visuals on the LED screen behind them to accompany their music. They played a total of 17 songs and invited a fan onstage to play along with them to their last song “Silver Lining.”
Synth-pop band Future Islands took over the SiriusXM Stage around 20h00/8 p.m.. This four-piece Baltimore based band stood on different large, gray geometric shapes while performing, adding to the futuristic sound of the synthesizer. Vocalist Samuel Herring strutted across the stage belting out a few songs including “The Tower,” “For Sure,” and “A Dream of You and Me.” The band played a total of 16 songs, closing out the night on the SiriusXM Stage.
July 9th, Day 6
The festival activities for the night started on the Bell Stage at 19h00/7 p.m. with the female folk trio, Les Hay Babies. Band members Julie, Katrine, and Vivianne all came out onto the stage in flashy, red, feminine cowgirl outfits fit with white tassels and gold stars. The girls had amazing energy as they jammed away to their songs that have become widely popular across Canada and Europe.
Ontario based rock band Tokyo Police Club took over the stage after Les Hay Babies. The band consists of vocalist/bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop. All four men looked chill and relaxed as they delivered their powerful tunes to the crowd. The group sang songs including “Nature of The Experiment,” “Be Good,” and “New Blues.” The set came to an abrupt end at 20h00/8 p.m. for a rain evacuation.
Due to the rain evacuation, guests were told that the festival would be canceled for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that meant we didn’t get to see New York rapper Nas, who we were looking forward to seeing. Right around 21h00/9 p.m., to our surprise, FEQ posted on their social media that the festivities would resume with Karkwa on the main stage. The rest of the night was free to everyone, even those without tickets.
Bringing a little light after the rain was Montreal based indie rock band Karkwa on the Bell Stage. The band recently got back together after breaking up, and are going to break-up again soon. Lead vocalist Louis-Jean Cormier told the crowd that this is the last time they would be seen performing together for a long time. Their set functioned as a kind of last-hurrah for the band, including guest singers and 19 songs.
Electronic musician CRi joined in with Karkwa on “Ouverture,” which opened their set. Alternative singer Talk sang along with Cormier to “Parfaite à L’écran” in white overalls decorated with stars. Marie-Pierre Arthur, a Québécoise pop singer, sang along with Karkwa on “Oublie pas.” Québécoise pop artist Klô Pelgag joined the crew on stage for two duets and a collaborative song featuring Les Hay Babies.
The final group song, “Échapper au sort” included Talk, Marie-Pierre, Klô, and Les Hay Babies for a grand finale. We’re sure that fans all over the world will miss such an accomplished group as Karkwa who has won Canada’s best album of the year, nearly ten Félix Awards, and gone on tours around the world over the past twenty years.
Day five and six marked the half-way point of FEQ. With just shy of one week left of the music festival, we’ll continue to keep you updated on the next artists we see! Stay tuned for more.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig