We made a commitment to include frequent French language music into our broader coverage here at GDW, and it was during the long drive home from an Ontario vacation this past weekend that I started reminiscing about some of the Franco artists we have added to our playlists thanks to recent festivals or radio airplay. I’m going to keep this edition of Video Vault pretty cut and dry – here are three previously unknown-to-us female artists (plus one whose solo project was a surprise) we discovered over the last fifteen months or so, and highly recommend you check them out…
Jeanne Côté, “Nos routes pleines de branches”
With our first post-pandemic Francos de Montréal festival experience in 2024, Jeanne Côté was the first artist we encountered once arriving in the city. Lured to the stage by her cover of a Fiona Apple tune, we enjoyed plenty of Jeanne’s original lo-fi indie-pop-folk tunes. Back in Montréal this summer, we found Jeanne’s latest album (brought it home) – so it seems perfectly fitting to share the album’s title track here.
Soleil Launière, “Piekuakami Minotan!”
Another artist discovered at the 2024 Francos de Montréal by pure chance – extending our stay an extra 24 hours in the city to catch a last-minute tribute show to the late Jean-Pierre Ferland, Soleil earned plenty of attention covering some popular chanson hits – but has an equally interesting music catalog of her own. This cut has seen some recent airplay on the SXM Radio Racines Musicales channel – and is worthy of several more spins…
Coline Rio, “On m’a dit”
Returning to Francos de Montréal just a couple of months ago, we discovered some previously unknown talent simply by sticking around in-between shows and being drawn to an adjacent stage. With a commanding voice and bearing many similarities to Coeur de Pirate with some authentic nouvelle chanson française music, Nantes, France invitee Coline Rio warranted plenty of attention during the La Traversée collaboration.
ALICE, “Jusqu’à ce que la marde nous sépare”
Rounding out this selection, we bring you an artist who we didn’t ‘see’ in Montréal this summer – but we did ‘hear’ a little of her set as we worked our way through the growing crowds to secure a good spot at one of the larger festival stages for a show shortly after. ALICE is the solo project of Alice Tougas, who first came to our attention many years ago as a member of the experimental bluegrass-Cajun band Canailles. Say no more, right?
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
