Quebec francophone folk rock musician Philippe Brach said he's never been to Sudbury before, but he's excited to come here this weekend to headline La Nuit émergente Friday evening.
“I'm really excited to play,” said Brach, who said he's heard a lot of good things about La Nuit émergente.
“I'm always fuelling myself with what people give me. They told me that the people give a lot in Sudbury. So yeah, I'm pretty excited about it.”
If you're a lover of francophone music, Sudbury is definitely the place to be this weekend, with La Nuit émergente running Friday, March 22 at Collège Boréal, and La Nuit sur l'étang running Saturday, March 23 at the same venue.
Besides Brach, La Nuit émergente performers include Choses Sauvages, K-Iri, DJ UNPIER, Lord Byrun, Beat Sexü, Camping Royal by Corpus, Thomas Carbou, Reney Ray, Simon Kearney and La Queen du Nord.
Organizers call it a “rich buffet of up-and-coming new music” that's “served up in an innovative festival-like atmosphere.”
The next evening, at La Nuit sur l'étang, participants will pay homage to Sudbury folk singer-songwriter Robert Paquette.
Performers include Paquette himself, along with Marce Aymar, Chuck Labelle, Cindy Doire, Christian Berthiaume, Leila, Luc Huneault, Martine Fortine, Michel Roux, Megan Bigras and Fjord.
At La Nuit émergente, Brach will be performing songs from his third album, Le silence des troupeaux, for which he received a 2019 Juno nomination (the award went to another musician who goes by the name of “Loud” this past weekend).
In a phone interview last week before the Junos were awarded, Brach said he wasn't bothering himself too much about the nomination.
“It's flattering, but not much more than that, you know,” he said. “I'm hungry for creation after all. That's what counts.”
Brach, a native of Chicoutimi who's lived for the past decade in Montreal, said even if you're an anglophone, he thinks you'll enjoy his show. “They seem to have a good time, I think,” he said.
A website for La Nuit émergente says Brach's “enchanting concerts are no less than a grandiose adventure through a world of powerful themes, both personal and universal.”
Brach said he enjoys writing music about a variety of subjects, including travel, religion, drugs and racism. “If I haven't talked about a subject, I'm really interested in writing on it,” he said.
Tickets to both events are available through TNO's box office. Visit letno.ca.
