Quebec City Summer Festival Celebrates 42nd Anniversary
admin June 27th, 2009
Now in its 42nd year, the Québec City Summer Festival continues to turn heads, bring the crowds to their feet, and attract music lovers from far and wide. The party will kick off and wrap up en français with two of Québec’s hottest acts, The Lost Fingers and Pierre Lapointe. In the days between, four international sensations— suprême NTM, Kiss, Plácido Domingo, and Sting—will bring their talent and energy to the Plains of Abraham!
At other venues around the city, Jeff Beck, Beirut, Sergent Garcia, and Girl Talk are sure to wow audiences with their musical prowess.
“With such a prestigious lineup, the Québec City Summer Festival has staked its claim as the greatest outdoor music event in Canada,” noted executive director Daniel Gélinas. “Every year, we pull out all the stops to attract national and international music stars and offer original, exclusive, and one-of-a-kind programming that, from one edition to the next, has helped make Québec City a prime summer destination, and this festival, a unique urban event.”
“Thanks to government support, especially from new contributor Industry Canada, we are able to ratchet up the quality even more. We have also received considerable financial assistance from Desjardins to present the five headline Desjardins acts,” added Marie-France Poulin, chair of the Québec City Summer
Festival Board of Director
THE LOST FINGERS, Thursday, July 9 (festival kickoff) with opening act Pink Martini – Bell Stage on the Plains of Abraham
One of the hottest acts around, The Lost Fingers will treat their hometown—and favorite festival—to a 100% original show concept featuring hits from their debut album Lost in the 80’s along with French-language cover classics from their new followup album. The band will be joined onstage by a host of other fantastic acts, including La Compagnie Créole, Michel Louvain, Stéphanie Lapointe, Plastic Bertrand, Nanette Workman, Martine St-Clair, Philippe Lafontaine, and other surprise guests.
Acclaimed U.S. ensemble Pink Martini will warm up the crowds with its trademark sound of Latin rhythms, bossanova, jazz, and classics from the 40s and 50s.
PIERRE LAPOINTE, Sunday, July 19 (closing concert) opening act Malajube – Bell Stage on the Plains of Abraham
To Pierre Lapointe falls the honor of wrapping up the festival activities with his renowned finesse and style. Winner of numerous awards, the highly popular artist will perform songs from his new CD, Sentiments humains, whose first track “Je reviendrai” has already become a hit on radio and music video channels across Québec. This will be Pierre Lapointe’s only outdoor concert this summer.
Québec band Malajube will set the stage with its international sound that has earned rave reviews at home as well as in the U.S. and Europe.
suprême NTM, Monday, July 13 – Bell Stage on the Plains of Abraham
Popular French rappers Kool Shen and Joey Starr will make their first trip to Québec, with Québec City their only scheduled concert stop. Twenty years ago, the gritty, provocative lyrics of these two young musicians from the burbs of Paris became a mantra for an entire generation. The duo parted ways in 1998 and reunited in 2008, to the delight of their fans. Their five subsequent shows (100,000 tickets) at Paris-Bercy sold out in only 45 minutes and were followed by a nationwide tour.
Will their appearance create the same buzz here in Québec City?
GREAT AND NOBLE MUSIC
PLÁCIDO DOMINGO, Friday, July 17 with Orchestre symphonique de Québec – Bell Stage on the Plains of Abraham
The world-famous tenor enjoyed Québec City so much when he was here last September to preside over the Opéralia World Opera Competition that he has agreed to come back. And this time, for a rare occasion, he will sing! Accompanied by Orchestre symphonique de Québec under the direction of conductor Israel Gursky, Plácido Domingo will perform operatic arias, zarzuelas (operettas typical of his native Spain), and—why not?—pop songs, too.
This performance will be reminiscent of the great outdoor concerts by The Three Tenors—Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, and José Carreras. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
JORDI SAVALL AND LE CONCERT DES NATIONS, Sunday, July 12 – Palais Montcalm
This Catalonian musician, the uncontested master of the viol (viola da gamba), has been introducing audiences to long-forgotten musical masterpieces for over thirty years. This will be Jordi Savall’s second appearance at the festival, where he will bring back to life works by Lully, Biber, Corelli, Avison, de Hita, and Boccherini, accompanied by musicians from Concert des Nations.
Tickets on sale at the Palais Montcalm box office Tel.: 418-641-6040 or 1-877-641-6040 Price: $50.75 (incl. taxes, service charge extra)
“We are delighted with the pride of place given to French-language performers this year. On the classical music front, it’s a dream come true as we prepare to welcome—in the same year—the world’s two most celebrated artists in their field,” noted Jean Beauchesne, programming director for the Québec City Summer Festival. “But as we all know, no Québec City Summer Festival would be complete without its share of rock. Lots of rock. And there will be rock! Here’s a little taste of what’s to come before we unveil the complete festival lineup in May…”
ROCK ON!
KISS, Thursday, July 16 with opening act Blue October – Bell Stage on the Plains of Abraham
How many will be there that night, unfurling their delight in full mask and makeup as these legends of rock ’n’ roll burn up the stage on the Plains of Abraham? Kiss will be playing a suitably demonic set list, including many of the group’s hits: “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” “Detroit City Rock”… Enough to keep the band’s legions of loyal and very visible fans completely sated.
A French KISS à la Gene Simmons—one the city of Québec won’t soon forget!
STING, Saturday, July 18 – Bell Stage on the Plains of Abraham Opening act American band Blue October will fire up the crowds in preparation for the headline act.
Composer, singer, actor, activist – Sting has won universal acclaim in all these roles, but defies easy labeling. He first rose to fame as the lead singer and bassist for the rock group The Police, then went on to establish an incredibly successful solo career. Sting has evolved into one of the world’s most distinctive and highly respected performers, collecting 16 Grammy awards and selling over 100 million albums worldwide.
A show given only in Quebec, from Ontario to the Maritime provinces.
JEFF BECK, July 9 – Molson Dry Stage at Parc de la Francophonie
Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on April 4 of this year, British guitar hero Jeff Beck once played with the mythic Yardbirds together with Jimmy Page, then with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood with the Jeff Beck Group before launching a solo career that has earned him an international reputation as an independent and truly original musician. Four-time Grammy Award winner and ranked 14th on the Top 100 list of all-time best guitarists by Rolling Stone magazine, Jeff Beck has a revolutionary approach to the electric guitar that has inspired many of his contemporaries, including Jimi Hendrix.
No doubt Jeff Beck will be burning up the Molson Dry stage with his talent and energy in this, one of only three Canadian tour dates.
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
BEIRUT, Monday, July 13 – L’Impérial de Québec
A revelation! The critics are unanimous about Zach Condon, the singer and man behind Beirut, the American band that draws its musical inspiration from the Balkans, American folk, French chansons (Brel, Gainsbourg, and Montand), and electronica.
In 2008 he cancelled his scheduled tour because, in his words, he wanted to make sure his shows were the best they could possibly be. He has just launched a new tour with the release of two EPs—one recorded in Mexico City with The Jimenez Band and the other solo—that speak volumes on the scope of his work and that will have local audiences clamoring for more.
SERGENT GARCIA, Friday, July 10 Place Metro at Place D’Youville
Place D’Youville is gonna be jumping! The former guitarist with punk band Ludwig Von 88, Bruno “Sergent” Garcia completely broke with the punk movement to explore his Cuban roots. His musical career really took off in 1999 with the release of his second album Un Poquito Quema’o, which sold 200,000 copies in France alone. His music, which he describes as “salsamuffin,” is a rollicking blend of Caribbean rhythms and urban sounds inspired by his globetrotting. His lyrics speak of love, poverty, and shamanism.
ELECTROSHOCK
GIRL TALK, Saturday, July 11 with opening acts The Heavy L’Impérial de Québec
Electronic music sensation Girl Talk, a.k.a. Gregg Michael Gillis, is a DJ renowned in the art of mashup, a hybrid musical genre that consists essentially of remixing music excerpts to create new songs. The soundtrack to LOVE, the Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, is a prime example of this technique. In 2008, Girl Talk’s album Feed the Animals ranked 4th on Time Magazine’s list of Top 10 albums, 24th on Rolling Stone’s Top 50 albums, and 2nd according to Blender. What sets him apart from other DJs? His infectious enthusiasm and interaction with the audience.
The High-energy British band The Heavy will get the crowd warmed up.
The Québec City Summer Festival is presented by Bell, in cooperation with Molson Dry.
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