Published on 9 September 2019
by Ariane Clément
French Fest provides a great opportunity to experience the vitality of one of Canada’s largest bilingual cities. An exciting series of nine concerts and events will be presented in various venues across Greater Sudbury and admission fees are modest.
This year’s French Fest features the outstanding stand-up comic LOUIS-JOSÉ HOUDE (sold-out event), OSCAR TRIO, a tribute to the legendary old-time singer-songwriter Oscar Tiffault featuring André Thériault, the literary happening PLEIN LA GUEULE, the Innu singer SHAUIT, the Senegalese-born female rapper Sarahmée, the Haitian-born singer Wesli, the square dance revivalist Jean-François Berthiaume and the power-pop band Dany Laj and The Looks.
Tuesday, September 24, 7 PM, at Fraser Auditorium – Sold out!
Sudbury is pleased to welcome one of Quebec’s most impressive stand-up comedians of our times. A superb stage performer, he has won over legions of fans with his versatility, charisma, impeccable timing and boundless verve. His style is all his own. His boundless energy is fascinating to experience. His career is a string of outstanding successes.
Wednesday, September 25, 7 PM at the Lavigne Tavern in Lavigne
Thursday, September 26, 7PM at Club 50 in Chelmsford
His songs are much more widely known than his name. He was the first Canadian recording artist to sell two million records and 500,000 recordings of a song: Ah! Ouigne in hin in! (Le rapide blanc), a mainstay of countless traditional old-time music events. His name is Oscar Thiffault and this event is a vibrant tribute to his work, performed as the man himself would have performed, with lots of comical asides, good humour and fancy suits!
Thursday, September 26, 5 to 7 PM, at the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario. Free admission!
“A Smack to the Jaw!” For months, a group of Sudbury writers, both pros and newbies, have been meeting regularly to see where their words might lead them. After a series of underground writing workshops known as l’Écritoire bricolée (the makeshift writing desk), they invite you to feast on their effervescent orations. Their project is 100% pure Sudbury and promises to pack a punch.
Friday, September 27, 9 PM, Zig’s (Elgin Street)
Shauit, who hails from Maliotenam in northeastern Quebec, is a singer-songwriter who performs in Creole, French and English, but especially in his native Innu language. This unique artist puts heartfelt and socially conscious lyrics to reggae, pop and dance hall beats. He serves as a proud ambassador of his Indigenous culture throughout the world.
Sarahmée is a Senegalese-born rapper who shares her quest for freedom in music and life. She has impressively collaborated with a number of performers from Quebec and France. Confident and mature in her attitude and her writing, she is one of the rare female rappers to have carved out a prominent place in a male-dominated genre.
Wesli was born in Port-au-Prince in Haïti. At age 8, he crafted his own guitar with bits of oils drums and fishing line. His family of seven siblings grew up in a home where music was second nature and an escape from a life of hardship. Today, he brings us a uniquely festive and rousing sound with dynamic arrangements and socially engaged lyrics.
Saturday, September 28, 10 AM to 3 PM at Collège Boréal. Free admission!
Le French Fest’s Family Day is a celebration of French culture, both local and international. It’s a back-to-school party and welcoming event with a supper, performances, fun activities and good family times. There will be music from WESLI’s big band orchestra, a folk dance performance with caller Jean-François Berthiaume and much, much more!
Saturday, September 28, 7 PM at the Sudbury Events Center, Regent Street
Square dance caller, jigger, choreographer and percussionist all in one, his talents have made him a hot commodity. His career in traditional dance spans twenty years and he is renowned as one the most inventive dance callers there is. His passion, sure instincts, energy and charm have made him a widely popular torch-bearer of beloved traditions.
Saturday, September 28, 9 PM at the Townehouse Tavern
From taverns to festivals to church basement halls, DANY LAJ AND THE LOOKS have been touring for years with a rock-and-roll attitude that stems from its Sudbury roots. The power-pop lead singer and his band turn heads wherever they go with a simple but powerful approach: write good songs, play good songs, have good times!
Alex Burger writes songs on the corners of round tables, capturing the poetry of last call at the bar and sunrise after sleepless nights. His rock-and-droll songwriting style melds Québecois chanson with American blues and country.