Philippe Brach to play ski club
Concert part of a national festival showcasing musicians
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A leading Quebecois singer-songwriter and his band are scheduled to rock the Yellowknife Ski Club tonight as part of a national francophone music festival held each year.
French-Canadian folk rock musician Philippe Brach will be in town tonight at the Yellowknife Ski Club jamming with his band as part of a national celebration of French music and culture, Coup de Coeur Francophone. - photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
Initially a Montreal-based festival, Coup de Coeur Francophone now aims to showcase French-Canadian musicians in communities across the country - tonight's concert is brought by the Yellowknife French-Cultural Association.
Breaking out in 2012, folk-rock musician Philippe Brach has been taking Quebecois fans by storm ever since.
"He's a very brilliant writer," said Batiste Foisy, event co-ordinator with the Yellowknife French-Cultural Association. "He speaks to the French-Canadian youth. He talks about the difficulties of relationships and commitment. He talks about the reality of people today, and that's what makes him so popular."
Of course, fans also love to dance to his catchy beats.
"It's gotta be why he has so much success right now," Foisy added.
The 27-year-old musician has won numerous French-language music awards. In 2013, he won grand prize in the Ma premiere Place des Arts songwriting competition and the SOCAN Best Song Award. He also won three awards at the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallee.
He released his first full-length album, La foire et l'ordre (Chaos and Order) in April 2014.
He's not a typical pop musician, said Foisy, a former journalist with Radio Taiga, Yellowknife's French-language community station.
His music has been described as irreverent and raw, pushing people out of their comfort zones.
"What he sings about is a bit edgy at times. He has a song where the opening line is something like: 'I'm waking up in the morning and I'm already stoned,'" he said, paraphrasing.
"It's an amazing show to have for people in the North. Honestly, if you want to discover a great actual French-Canadian band, this is the night - they're really hot. I'm not just saying that, I'm really excited to see them."
The opening act tonight is Yellowknife-based Les Dead Frets.
