The director of the Le Phoque OFF festival has vivid memories of Hubert Lenoir’s “memorable” concert, in 2018, when the album was released Darlene.
It was his first show ever », recalls Patrick Labbé, who spoke with The newspaper before the start, Friday evening, of the first concerts of this winter musical gathering presented in Quebec since 2015.
With the exception of a few hipsters in the industry, no one suspected that this young artist from Quebec would become a sensation thanks to his song Daughter of Person II.
This famous concert had also taken place … in the offices of the company Lepointdevente.com, in the lower town of Quebec. To set up a small stage there, the employees’ workstations had to be packed into a corner.
“We must have been 150 in this small place, a lot of people from record companies and festivals. I still remember Hubert standing on top of the world and hanging from the ceiling. The rest is historyas they say,” says Patrick Labbé.
Before the QEF
Over the years, other artists from here have cut their teeth at the Seal OFF before climbing the ladder. In 2015, Caravan and Sandveiss, two unknown groups, were on the bill. A few months later, Sandveiss opened for Megadeth on the Plains of Abraham.
“Ariane Roy was on the program for two or three years in a row before it exploded for her,” also points out Mr. Labbé.
Le Phoque OFF is proud to introduce emerging artists to those who frequent its stages.
“We are really not the same model as the Summer Festival, but what works for us will end up playing for them”, indicates the director of the festival.
Volet international
Even if it still maintains its commitment to discovering artists “from Quebec City, the province of Quebec and Canada”, the Phoque OFF is expanding. Thanks to the arrival of major sponsor Sirius, international artists are on the 2023 grid.
In addition to the Canadian noise-rock group Metz, we note the presence of the American-Egyptian rapper Felukah, known for her participation in one of the official songs of the recent Football World Cup, and a quartet of Belgian DJs.
The Seal OFF begins Friday evening. The singer Vanille will notably be at the Pantoum. For all the programming, go to phoqueoff.com.