From folklore to Quebec song
From oral folklore to today's music, the chanson québécoise has evolved and transformed since the advent of Montreal cabarets in the 1920s. One woman is at the origin of this tradition: Mary Rose Anna Travers, known as La Bolduc. Very popular in the 1920s-1930s, this great artist used humor and popular expressions in her songs, and for the first time added a Québécois color to the chanson. The famous chanson québécoise was born of a skilful blend of folk music, Québécois poetry and the influence of composers such as Léo Ferré and Jacques Brel. Songwriters Félix Leclerc and Gilles Vigneault were the first to synthesize it. Félix Leclerc is the father of chanson québécoise, linking La Bolduc with the chansonniers of the 1960s. An omnipresent figure on the artistic scene, whether in song, poetry, theater or novels, his mark on Quebec's cultural and political history is immense. His famous refrain " Mon pays, ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver" (My country, it's not a country, it's winter ) is due to him. An ardent defender of Quebec sovereignty, he became an emissary of his culture to the four corners of the French-speaking world.
Halfway between French influences and the desire to create a Canadian tradition, the works of the chansonniers brought folk song to the fore. By the end of the 1950s, the importance of chanson à texte was growing, and so was the need to create venues for it. Jean-Pierre Ferland and Claude Léveillée consequently opened Chez Bozo, in May 1959, on Crescent Street in Montreal. The two creators were soon joined by Clémence Desrochers, who would go on to become a composer for Édith Piaf and the still almost unknown Raymond Lévesque. This collective of songwriters and artists adopted the name of the venue where they performed. For the first time, a generation of songwriters shared a common vision, and song became a rallying point beyond individual careers. In the years that followed, a multitude of songboxes based on an identical model were born. At the height of the scene, there were as many as two hundred in Quebec. A few boîtes à chansons still carry on the tradition today, notably La P'tite Grenouille (several branches).
The impact of pop music, disco and new wave
At the end of the 1960s, new rhythms appeared and shook up Quebecois chanson. Robert Charlebois, author of the hits Lindberg, Ordinaire and Je reviendrai à Montréal, staged L'Osstidcho (1968), a mix of songs, monologues and dissonant music, all enhanced by improvisations. The show, described by its creators as "total musical madness", marked the birth of a certain kind of French-language rock. As Anglo-Saxon sounds spread, a number of songwriters drew inspiration from them to transform Quebec folklore. A whole folk movement began around Plume Latraverse, a singer-songwriter whose rock ballads were considered "veritable chronicles of the daily life of 1970s youth", and Fabienne Thibeault, who was not even twenty when she began her singing career.
Harmonium was one of the few Québécois bands of the 1970s to enjoy some success in the United States, despite their French lyrics. Renowned for their progressive folk, Harmonium made their mark with just three studio albums. Away from the hype, Beau Dommage is also a benchmark of music from those years. Formed in 1974, this Quebec group is best known for its hit La Complainte du phoque en Alaska, covered by Félix Leclerc and the French group Chanson Plus Bifluorée, among others. A willing provocateur, Diane Dufresne made her stage debut with her first self-deprecating rock songs.
In the 1970s, disco entered the Quebec scene, particularly in Montreal, which became known as the "Queen of Disco". The Lime Light club on Stanley Street was to Montreal what Studio 54 was to New York, and its dance floor was graced by the likes of Gloria Gaynor, James Brown and Freddie Mercury. Its resident DJ, Robert Ouimet, was praised by Rolling Stone and Billboard magazines. Then, in the 1980s, Montreal's flourishing new wave scene made a name for itself internationally with, among others, American Devices, Boys du Severe, Déjà Voodoo, Men Without Hats, performances by Michel Lemieux, Monty Cantsin and his obscure neo-movement, Rational Youth, Red Shift and Trans-X.
The musical revival since the 1990s
Since the 1990s, all musical styles have been represented: rock and chanson, of course, but also rap, metal, funk and reggae. The themes of previous decades have resurfaced with force: language and identity, social exclusion and injustice... A group like Les Colocs has become a benchmark, with its eclectic music ranging from rock to blues, funk to reggae. Their lyrics, sometimes amusing, sometimes committed and often poignant, have made this Quebec group a must-see. Les Cowboys Fringants also brought this social conscience to Quebecois chanson with their folk, rock and country songs. In 2023, the death of Karl Tremblay, lead singer of this legendary group, created a wave of sadness and nostalgia in Quebec and elsewhere in the French-speaking world. Then came Richard Desjardins, Quebec's Brel, who emerged from the shadows in 1990 with a series of politically engaged songs featuring hard-hitting lyrics full of cynical humor and raw tenderness. For their part, hip-hop group Loco Locass have updated the nationalist song movement with their rhythmic, sonorous lyrics.
Following in the footsteps of Luc Plamondon and the musicals Starmania, Roméo et Juliette, Cindy and Notre-Dame de Paris, a new musical trend has focused on songs that are more Francophone than Québécois. The careers of Diane Dufresne and Fabienne Thibeault owe much to Starmania. The possibility of touring abroad and the development of mass media enabled many Quebec artists such as Roch Voisine, Garou, Isabelle Boulay, Linda Lemay and Diane Tell to achieve real popular success in France. Even if she went on to achieve worldwide recognition, Céline Dion is first and foremost a leading figure in French-language variety music. She broke sales records in both French- and English-speaking markets, but she never denied her origins and played on her closeness to her audience, combining a star aura with a warm familiarity (due to her stiff person syndrome, her return to the stage was compromised).
A whole pivotal scene would later renew the genre: Pierre Lapointe and his love of text and orchestration, neo-folk singers and composers Ariane Moffatt and Cœur de Pirate, and pianist Chilly Gonzales and his prestigious collaborations with Daft Punk, Björk and Placebo. The entire music scene of that era influenced the pop music being made in Quebec today, from Fanny Bloom and Hubert Lenoir to the Boulay sisters and Alex Nevsky.
The success of post-rock released by the independent Montreal label Constellation Records, with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion, followed by the global advent of Arcade Fire's indie rock, showed that international success was possible for local artists. Hopes increased tenfold thanks to the geographic proximity of the American market. Montreal has seen its independent scene blossom, and a host of artists now occupy center stage: pianist Patrick Watson, the rock-electronica band Suuns, the electro-pop of Men I Trust, Pottery and their garage rock, the modern folk-rock of Half Moon Run, and Kaytranada. Between house and hip-hop, Kaytranada's mixes have become benchmarks. Having emerged thanks to Soundcloud, he won the Best Album award at the Polaris Music Prize (Canada's equivalent of the Victoires de la Musique) and has been asked by the likes of Mary J. Blige and Gorillaz to remix their tracks.
Aboriginal artists are also increasingly present on the Quebec music scene, with Black Bear drummers and singers reputed to be among the best in the country, Inuit singer-songwriter Elisapie Isaac, Algonquin rapper and poet Samian, Shauit and his Innu reggae, not to mention the magnificent songs of Innu singer-songwriter Florent Vollant (formerly of the group Kashtin, which he formed with Claude McKenzie, the most important musical group in First Nations history).
Live music
There's a plethora of music venues in Quebec City and Montreal, as well as in the regions. Some mythical and/or ultra-popular venues: La Casa del Popolo in Montreal, which offers the best of the independent music scene; Les Foufounes Électriques in Montreal, as famous for its name as for its programming, which makes it a mecca for underground culture, in a very spectacular setting; l'Impérial Bell in Quebec City, one of the obligatory spots for emerging artists; L'Anti Bar & Spectacles, an underground music presenter in Quebec City, which welcomes up-and-coming artists and offers a selection of the rising scene.
While Montreal has a major symphony orchestra, theOrchestre symphonique de Montréal, classical music's place in Quebec culture is diminishing. And yet, with the Maison symphonique de Montréal, the city boasts first-rate modern facilities with perfect acoustics and visibility. The venue is also home to the Orchestre Métropolitain and Les Violons du Roy. Jazz and pop concerts are also held here from time to time. The hall is part of the city's largest cultural complex, Place des Arts, which includes several other major venues, such as Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier acts as an opera house, housing the companies of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and the Opéra de Montréal. One of the country's largest concert halls, it also hosts other major events.
Then there are the countless music festivals. The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal offers a program of some 500 concerts, mainly jazz-oriented. The Francos and Osheaga are also major musical events. The Festival d'été de Québec offers its share of headliners, but also promotes the local scene. The regions of Quebec are not to be outdone, with renowned festivals such as the Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac, Le Festif! in Baie-Saint-Paul, Innu Nikamu featuring Aboriginal music and arts, and the Festival de musique émergente de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
And if you want to bring home a bit of Quebec music, nothing beats vinyl, which has been very much in vogue in recent years. Coming to Montreal or Quebec City to buy your collector's records is a must. Forget New York or London, here record shops are everywhere. Often sourcing directly from the U.S., you'll find collector's items from early pressings and other forgotten items.
Theatre and humour
While the first theatrical traces date back to the 17th century with Marc Lescarbot's Théâtre de Neptune, it wasn't until the 20th century that a Quebecois dramaturgy emerged with Gratien Gélinas, author of Tit-Coq, the first play in the Quebec repertoire, which premiered in 1948. From the 1950s onwards, theater evolved to become in turn rebellious with Marcel Dubé, social and artistic with the first use of joual, the popular form of Quebec French in Michel Tremblay's Les Belles-sœurs, and exploratory with Claude Gauvreau and his play La Charge de l'orignal épormyable. The 1980s saw the return of a dramaturgy that emphasized aesthetics, to the detriment of the social aspect. A number of great names emerged. For example, Robert Lepage directed Vinci, a reflection on our relationship with art, which he wrote and performed alone on stage. For this monster of a director, image and aesthetics come first, with text becoming an accessory. We heard a lot about him at the end of 2018, when he came to France to stage his play Kanata with Ariane Mnouchkine's company. He had been prevented from staging it in his homeland following a controversy launched by an aboriginal collective criticizing him for talking about the sufferings of the First Nations in a show performed by no aboriginal actors. A scene repeated itself with his other project, SLĀV. In the 2000s, Wajdi Mouawad also became a benchmark director with his tetralogy Le Sang des Promesses. Mouawad's original approach is to let the actors express themselves first, before writing the final text.
Humor also occupies an important place in Quebec, so much so that a National School of Humor was founded in Montreal in 1988. The school has since graduated over 700 creators, writers and comedians. Every year, the Gala Les Olivier (named after comedian Olivier Guimond) showcases the work of comedians, rewarding them for their work and highlighting emerging artists. Montreal is also the birthplace of the world's largest comedy festival, the renowned Just for Laughs. The Just for Laughs Group went bankrupt in 2024, however, and ComediHa! another well-known player in the comedy world, acquired some of the group's assets.
The "new Quebec circus
Cirque du Soleil has proved that it's possible to shake circus out of its lethargy by bringing it its share of modernity and dream. With astonishing creativity and refinement, the acts performed by this new-style circus have little in common with their glorious ancestors. The show is a dreamlike visual experience, with original compositions that take the audience by surprise with their boldness. Founded in 1984 in Quebec by Guy Laliberté, Cirque du Soleil has completely overturned the traditional approach to circus and now offers its shows all over the world, including Las Vegas, where many of its shows are featured in the world's biggest hotels and casinos. The shows stop over in Quebec for a few weeks each year. Take advantage of your visit to see one of these shows, most of which take place under a big top. Other Quebec companies, such as Cirque Éloize and Les 7 Doigts de la Main, also highly original and multidisciplinary, are recognized the world over, making circus a true Quebec specialty. Montreal is also home to the world-renowned National Circus School, founded in 1991, not to mention a festival entirely dedicated to the cause, Montreal Complètement Cirque.
