Les FrancoFolies de Montréal show their winning hand!
Jane Birkin, Gérard Darmon, Pierre Lapointe, Arthur H, Yann Perreau, Bernard Lavilliers, Daniel Bélanger, Juliette Gréco, Catherine Major, Rokia Traoré, Mara Tremblay, Julien Doré, Malajube, Cœur de pirate, Daniel Lavoie, La Grande Sophie, Nouvelle Vague, Ariane Moffatt, Émily Loizeau, Zaza Fournier, Doriane, Jérôme Minière, Band de garage and a closing concert featuring the live recreation of 12 hommes rapaillés…

Kings, queens, and a deck full

of aces for our 21st!

Tickets go on sale this Saturday at noon.

Montreal, Monday, April 20, 2009 - The Francos turn 21! Yes, this summer, Les FrancoFolies de Montréal launch their 21st edition-and as we all know, 21 is a winning number! To prove it, the largest event dedicated to francophone music, presented as ever by Ford of Canada in collaboration with Molson Dry, will play a an unbeatable hand of impressive artists from July 30 to August 9, headed to Montreal to showcase the booming good health of our music. We’ll deal out sixty indoor concerts featuring the best trump cards from the francophone world, not to mention a multitude of free outdoor shows (which will be unveiled July 15). Whether players on the emerging scene or the kings and queens who’ve ruled our hearts for years, some of the most interesting artists representing everything from chanson to rock, world music to hip hop will be coming to the table! Please note that this 21st edition will be dedicated to Alain Bashung, a pillar of French song who passed away this winter. Tickets for all indoor concerts go on sale this Saturday, April 25 at noon.

Start off with this Lucky 7!

Once again, the Francos stack the deck with special events for every taste. Whether they’re premieres, shows re-conceived from top to bottom, original and uncommon concepts or unique combinations never before seen or heard, these exclusive creations have become our Francos signature. And this year, with no fewer than seven special events, you can go ahead and call out: blackjack!

Nouvelle Vague en V.F. Opening act: La patère rose - July 31, 9 p.m. - Métropolis, Les Nuits Ford Focus series - When postpunk collides with pop culture, you’re under the sway of Nouvelle Vague, the brainstorm of multi-instrumentalists and co-producers Marc Collin and Olivier Livaux. The concept: bring the bossa nova to the rad hits of the ’80s. After two successful albums in English, les Francos de La Rochelle-celebrating their 25th anniversary this year-turned the tide and decided to surf in French; this time, Plastik Bertrand, Indochine and Rita Mitsouko ride the waves with eccentric and original re-readings of rock classics. First up, Fanny Bloom, Roboto and Kilojules, a genuine hit last year, zap us with electropop from their first eponymous album, La patère rose, released in March.

Joli chaos x 2 - Daniel Bélanger en solo - August 4, 8 p.m. - Théâtre Maisonneuve, PdA, Les Événements Ford Fusion series - Fans of Les Insomniaques s’amusent, Quatre saisons dans le désordre, Tricycle, Déflaboxe and L’échec du matériel, rediscover the Bélanger classics-and then some!-in Joli chaos. Winner of innumerable Félix awards, the singer-songwriter presents an equally charming and stunning re-reading of his rich repertoire, enhanced by a selection of undiscovered pearls… solo in Montreal for the first time! - Daniel Bélanger Band - August 5, 9 p.m. - Métropolis, Les Nuits Ford Focus series - Alex McMahon, Jean‑François Lemieux and Carl Bastien join Daniel Bélanger on his plunge into the labyrinthine musical exploration of the same album. Here’s a fabulous live take on his 2008 double best-of CD, while we await the next vintage from our most prolific idol!

Martha Wainwright - August 5, 8 p.m. - Théâtre Maisonneuve, PdA, Les Événements Ford Fusion series - Daughter of two great songwriters, Loudon and Kate… sister of yet another… and entirely, absolutely her own artist. The sexy image, the mischief, intelligence and depth of the songwriting, the talent all spring from the character of an artist who takes chances, and a woman who does everything her own way and, above all, lives life intensely. And, especially for the Francos, Martha will perform a set sung mainly in French!

Carte blanche à La Confiserie - August 7, 10 p.m. - Cabaret Juste pour rire, Hip Rap Rock Molson Dry series - La Confiserie is without a doubt one of the most interesting and original new labels to appear in Quebec over the last few years. Headed by the enigmatic Navet Confit, La Confiserie includes in its roster Carl-Éric Hudon and Émilie Proulx, winners of the 2007 Francouvertes. The whole gang welcomes special guests, playing one another’s songs in a festive, freewheeling ambience! First up, Polipe unveils songs from a debut album due in the coming months. Discover these new talents before the madding crowd!

La Tournée des Francos with La Casa, Suarez and Alfa Rococo - August 8, 7 p.m. - Club Soda, Tendances Vidéotron series - La tournée des Francos is pretty straightforward: La Casa (France), Suarez (Belgium) and Alfa Rococo (Quebec) join up for a world FrancoFolies tour, from La Rochelle, to Spa and on, of course, to Montreal, rolling out their respective albums, Les Trucs Abîmés, On attend and Lever l’ancre. It’s hale and hearty acoustic rock, delivered by a loveable trio of crowd-pleasing francophone bands!

Closing concert - 12 hommes rapaillés - August 8, 8 p.m. - Théâtre Maisonneuve, PdA, Les Événements Ford Fusion series - The spellbinding melodies of Gilles Bélanger, the impeccable production of Louis‑Jean Cormier and 12 voices raised in song: our finest artists recreate the poetry of Gaston Miron in a moving, unique, perfectly poised tribute to a giant. A major undertaking in Quebecois song, 12 hommes rapaillés was a phenomenal success, selling 25,000 copies and drawing unrestrained praise from the critics. Now the Francos host a major musical moment, with Michel Rivard, Yann Perreau, Daniel Lavoie, Richard Séguin, Vincent Vallières and many others joining together to immortalize this genuine tour de force live onstage!

Ariane Moffatt. Opening act: Émily Loizeau - August 8, 9 p.m. - Métropolis, Les Nuits Ford Focus series - Ariane Moffatt onstage with strings and brass? Uhh… wow! Francofans are sure to revel in this electrofolk extravaganza! Treating Tous les sens with a slightly more pop aesthetic without trimming back her ultramodern sound effects, Ariane Moffatt once again showcases the quality and dynamism of her immeasurable creative talent. To open the evening, France’s Émily Loizeau brings the delicate melodies, refined arrangements and bilingue lyrics of Pays Sauvage across the Atlantic to our shores.

The indoor program, series by series

Théâtre Maisonneuve, PdA, 8 p.m.

Les Événements Ford Fusion series

Presented in collaboration with La Presse, RockDétente 107,3 Montréal, 98,5 FM and BOOM FM

Opening concert - Gérard Darmon - July 31 - Oh, you didn’t know this onscreen charmer was also a singer? With three albums to his credit, actor Gérard Darmon (Diva, etc.) hasn’t yet run out of spells with which to bind us. His latest, On s’aime, co-produced and composed by his friend Marc Lavoine, was released in France last autumn and has just landed on our shores. The Mambo Italiano crooner will be dressed to impress in this 21st edition grand opening concert!

Bernard Lavilliers - August 1 - Even with over 30 albums to his credit, released over the course of 40 years, eternal adventurer Bernard Lavilliers is far from done enchanting us! His latest effort, Samedi soir à Beyrouth, delivers the characteristic deep, warm voice, a reggae-soul-folk bottom, and hard-hitting socio-poetic lyrics; what else would you expect! And it’s perfectly timed for a hot Saturday night in Montreal!

Juliette Gréco - August 2 - She is a living legend, the post-war muse of the bohemian set. Her next album, Je me souviens de tout, due soon, finds “La Greco”, now in her eighties, working with young songwriters Olivia Ruiz and Abd Al Malik (what generation gap?) to name a few. Of course, she will be accompanied on piano-as in life-by Gérard Jouannest, who played alongside the immortal Brel, in this umpteenth grand and timeless moment in a life and career at the epicentre of French culture. Odds are that we’ll remember it all as well!

Béla Fleck and Toumani Diabaté - August 6 - The reunion of two grandmasters, in the same concert, on the same night-what an honour! Considered the greatest banjo player on earth, American Béla Fleck pairs up with Mali’s Toumani Diabaté, a key figure in African music, born into his family’s 71st generation of kora players. Two exceptionally creative virtuoso musicians conjure up an unparalleled evening of African excitement!

Jane Birkin - August 7 - Apparently, this great lady of song, in eternal transit between France and England, feels quite at home with us… which suits us just fine! This summer, Jane Birkin arrives with the album Enfants d’hiver, produced by Edith Fambuena, bearing the mark of Alain and Pierre Souchon, Alain Lanty and Hawksley Workman, but also, incredibly, featuring her first ever collection of self-penned lyrics. So it goes with the eternally youthful Birkin, whom we haven’t seen at the Francos since the excellent Arabesque, a sellout in 2003-she is grace itself, a figure at once nostalgic and vibrantly in the moment. Welcome home, Jane!

Métropolis, 9 p.m.

Les Nuits Ford Focus series

Presented in collaboration with 96,9 CKOI et Radio-Canada

Malajube. Opening act: Les Dales Hawerchuk - August 1 - The Quebec group of the moment returns to the Francos with its acclaimed album Labyrinthes. After rocking Canada coast to coast and blowing away a packed house at SXSW in Austin, Texas, after hitting France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, they’re back to roll the unstoppable force of their music into Métropolis. Celebrate a band that proved Quebec rock knows no boundaries! To open the evening, Les Dale Hawerchuck close out the second-album tour they began at last year’s Francos!

Pierre Lapointe. Opening act: Albin de la Simone - August 2 - For his latest Francos premiere, Pierre Lapointe trades in his mutant suit to express his Sentiments humains, the newly-released album we’ve been eagerly anticipating. He may be esoteric, perhaps even unknowable, but here at the Francos, he’s very much at home… and one of us! And speaking of home, we open the evening with a visit to the Bungalow, latest release from the unclassifiable and playful spirit known as Albin de la Simone.

Arthur H. Opening act: Yann Perreau - August 4 - The utterly danceable L’Homme du monde was named pop rock album of the year at the 24th Victoires de la musique awards. On Arthur H’s 7th album, produced once again right here by Montreal’s Jean Massicotte, guitar eclipses piano, and the artist’s trademark intoxicating poetry turns downright groovy. Our expectations soar ever higher with the addition of opening act Yann Perreau, making his first onstage appearance since the release of his magnificent album Un serpent sous les fleurs in March.

Oxmo Puccino. Opening act: Jeune Chilly Chill - August 6 - As the midnight hour rolled around, Club Soda was bursting at the seams during his last performance here, as part of the 2006 Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. French hip hopper Oxmo Puccino brandishes L’Arme de paix and lays claim to some of the most intelligent franco hip hop. First up, while we await the release of his Chillage extrême, Jeune Chilly Chill of NulSiDécouvert brings the Swaggalicioso of his humourous hip hop.

Karkwa. Opening act: Marie-Pierre Arthur - August 7 - Attention: Last chance to catch Le Volume du vent live in concert! With two Félix awards in their back pockets, a Juno nomination for francophone album of the year for their 3rd album, and an ever-burgeoning fan base, Karkwa is a force to be reckoned with. Join the party! To open the evening, Marie‑Pierre Arthur-and a few members of Karkwa-returns after last year’s Francos with a newly released album and a buzz you can hear a mile away. Don’t miss it!

Club Soda, 7 p.m.

Tendances Vidéotron series

Presented in collaboration with ARTV and Galaxie, RockDétente 107,3 Montréal, Info 690 and 96,9 CKOI

Numéro#. Opening act: Donzelle - July 31 - When it comes to setting subversive lyrics to synthetic music and sweet hooks, they’ve got our number: Numéro#, pairing Frenchman Jérôme Rocipon with Québécois Pierre Crube. After singing the praises of style and glamour on Idéologie des stars, they amp things up with Sport de combat, released in mid-April: their self-deprecating electropop and disco parodies lead inexorably to the dancefloor! First up is Donzelle, the hip hop chick of the moment.

Les Moquettes Coquettes, Sous les jupes des filles - August 1 - Charming, self-deprecating, born for the stage-you’ll recognize these five gals immediately. In their 3rd Francos appearance, les Moquettes Coquettes celebrate their 5th anniversary in the company of female friends who know how to rock au féminin. Special guests, including La patère rose and Orange Orange, bring their own special touches to Club Soda for an evening of music, humour, dance, big productions… and this is no girls’ night out: the boys are invited, too!

Catherine Major. Opening act: Sammy Decoster - August 2 - Nominated in three categories at the 2008 Gala de l’ADISQ 2008 (Félix for best production), winner of the 2008 Prix Félix‑Leclerc de la chanson (Québec category), winner of a Jutra for the music to the film Le Ring-there’s a reason we call her Catherine the Great! Expect Catherine Major to stun her audience, as usual. France’s Sammy Decoster and his trio open the evening with music from his debut album of American folk-rock, Tucumcari, a sound perfectly suited to the romantic sensibility of our headliner.

Martin Léon. Opening act: Saule - August 4 - The former sold out both shows following the launch of his 2nd album; the latter caught the attention of none other than the great Franco Dragone. Martin Léon’s Facteur vent picks up where the impressive Kiki BBQ left off; the strapping young Saule updates western with a thoroughly modern gentility. What could top that?

Rokia Traoré - August 5 - Attention world music fans: Mali’s Rokia Traoré is headed to Montreal with the show of the year! Winner in the world music category at the 2009 Victoires de la musique awards for Tchamantche, Traoré lays down powerful, sensual, languorous grooves in an often minimalist but always original musical ambience. While we’re at it, attention blues and contemporary rock fans: you’ll love Traoré, too!

Sir Pathétik - August 6 - Sir Pathétik’s 5th album is shattering hip hop sales records in Quebec: with close to 6,000 albums sold in only six weeks, Avant k’tu m’oublies is a blowout success, despite most major radio stations slamming the door in his face! Too bad for them, because Sir Pathetik leaves no one indifferent-not even the folks at ADISQ, who’ve nominated him a number of times since 2004… And since he’s a popular guy with lots of friends, expect plenty of them to drop in onstage, including his pal from Mauvaize Frékentation, Billy Nova!

Mara Tremblay. Opening act: Ludo Pin - August 7 - Four years after Les nouvelles lunes, Mara Tremblay delivers Tu m’intimides, a sunny and intoxicating 4th album confirming that her formidable powers of self-reinvention are undiminished. Co-produced with Olivier Langevin and Pierre Girard, Tremblay’s newest pieces accent guitar with touches of electronica, setting off her unique voice and inverting the meaning of that album title: she’ll be the one intimidating us! Ludo Pin, the first artist signed to the Audiogram France label, opens the evening solo, with his computer and his guitar.

Maison du Festival, 8:30 p.m.

Tout en chanson La Presse

Presented by SIRIUS Radio Satellite in collaboration with ARTV and CIBL 101,5 FM

Cœur de pirate. Opening act: Le Husky Trio - July 30 (7 p.m.) to August 2 - In 2008, she opened for Benjamin Biolay at the Francos and released her album on the Grosse Boîte label. The buzz, however, had already been building for Béatrice Martin, classically-trained pianist, child-woman, It Girl of Quebec pop. The songs are fragile, honest, romantic, somewhere between French chanson and folk, straight from the heart of a young songwriter barely out of her teens. Journalists court her, but cannot catch her; let’s just follow her and her piano and let’s see where we end up! Husky Trio open the evening with suitably melancholy pop songs.

Daniel Lavoie - August 4 - And so it goes with artists whose excellence becomes as familiar to us as the air we breathe: their art dovetails with our daily consciousness, and we take it all for granted. Luckily, we have Où la route mène, Daniel Lavoie’s double CD/DVD compilation, to remind us: “Wow - what hits!” And when we rediscover him onstage-especially as a solo artist, as in this case-the reawakening is complete: Daniel Lavoie has long been one of our most important artistic figures, a master of melody… and a hell of a showman!

La Grande Sophie - August 5 & 6 - Writing, composition, arrangements: her 5th album was practically a one-woman operation. La Grande Sophie offers us the fully-ripened songs of Des vagues et des ruisseaux, with a more personal tone and more intimate themes, and her Dutronc-meets Chrissie Hynde vibe accented with touches of ’50s and soul. Still, this remains the melodic “Kitchen Music” we’ve known and loved these past 15 years.

Julien Doré. Opening act: Amylie - August 7 & 8 - Charisma, stage presence, a voice; Gainsbourgian couplets, and folk rock that really pops. Winner of France’s Nouvelle Star program in 2007, Julien Doré plays guitar, ukulele and piano. He duets with Carla Bruni on the debut, Ersatz, released in June 2008 and greeted as “discovery of the year” by France’s Victoires de la musique. The whole country is in a swoon, and Quebec is next in line! For her part, Amylie offers Jusqu’aux oreilles, with an electro-folk sound that recalls Camille, Ariane Moffatt or even Feist!

Cabaret Juste pour rire, 10 p.m.

Hip Rap Rock Molson Dry series

presented in collaboration with MusiquePlus, NIGHTLIFE Magazine, CISM 89,3 FM and BANDE À PART

Spleen / Movèzerbe - July 31 - After a 2006 appearance at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Cameroonian Parisian Spleen returns to charm us anew. Signed to Universal France, his Comme un enfant is perfectly recognizable: romantic poetry set to a musical melting pot. And speaking of genre-fusion, new Quebec hip hop-electrojazz combo Movèzerbe unites Les 2 Tom (Tom & Mash), Karim Ouellet, Accrophone (Claude & Eman), Boogat, AbidboX and KenLo Le Narrateur. A month spent in a chalet created the instant musical magic of Dendrophile, released in February and one of the year’s finest hip hop albums!

Zaza Fournier / Caïman Fu - August 1 - Coming on like a cabaret artist or a ’50s rocker, Zaza Fournier is a retro-kitsch songwriter for the new millennium. Blessed with a powerful voice and natural attitude to burn, she’s a marriage of Édith and Elvis, with an accordion, and… an iPod as her orchestra! First up, Quebec quintet Caïman Fu deliver a blend of intimate pop and charged-up rock, passion and maturity with Drôle d’animal, an ecletic 3rd album that will bring out the beast in you. Welcome Jutra-winning actress-singer Isabelle Blais back from her day job!

Les Fatals Picards / 3 gars su’l sofa - August 2 - It’s L’amour à la française from France’s Fatals Picards, whose hilarious-and bilingual!-hit sends up both languages and love itself. Their 5th album, Le sens de la gravité brings more pop-rock humour and, from what we’ve learned, the stage show is surreal! For their part, 3 gars su’l sofa haven’t been laying around this past year: they’ve performed over 200 shows across Quebec, Canada and Europe and recorded a second album. Their Cerf-Volant is ready for liftoff. All aboard!

Anis / Doriane - August 4 - After moving 130,000 copies of debut album La Chance, French singer Anis hits the road again with Rodéo Boulevard, a more stylized, polished production of his reggaefied, ska-tastic, bluesy sound. Doriane, the “Doba” half of defunct duo Dobacaracol, finally resurfaces with songs of self-identity drawn from a deep source.

Zong / Le Roi Poisson - August 5 - Electro-punk dub nomads Zong just delivered their 3rd album, Fractures, a stunning blend of electronica and traditional instrumentation that’s sure to make the earth move! In a different element, Le Roi Poisson plunge into a new sonic aquarium with the rock-pop-indie-disco-dance-prog of Il fallait que ça sorte: it’s eclectic, progressive, colourful and zigs where the other little fishies zag!

Souleymane Diamanka / Jérôme Minière - August 6 - Senegal’s Souleymane Diamanka is a lyric alchemist. Setting his words to an intimate, jazzy music with African accents, the “living poetry”, palindromes and deep vocals on his L’Hiver Peul album might remind us of another slammer, Grand Corps Malade, with whom he’s already collaborated. In a completely different register, self-taught artist and Franco regular Jérôme Minière delivers surrealist poetry over subtle guitars and a touch of electro on his Cœurs album.

Band de garage / Avec pas d’casque - August 8 - A mini-mutual admiration society, Band de garage and Avec pas d’casque performed together at the 22nd Coup de cœur francophone last autumn. They did have something else in common-the singer-guitarist and drummer duo format-until APDC added a member to fill out their sound. So: two duos that add up to a quintet for this 21st Francos. Prepare yourselves for a fusion of stoner-trash-rock and folk-country-grunge.

The above is a listing of all indoor programming for the 21st FrancoFolies de Montréal; the free outdoor shows will be announced July 15.

Tickets go on sale this Saturday, at noon.

Tickets for all shows of the 21st FrancoFolies de Montréal go on sale this Saturday, April 25 at noon. They are all available at the Métropolis box office (montrealmetropolis.ca, 59 Ste. Catherine Street E. - 514 844-3500) except for shows presented at Place des Arts. Tickets for Métropolis, Maison du Festival and Club Soda are also available at Ticketpro at ticketpro.ca, 514 908‑9090 or 1 866 908‑9090, toll free. Tickets for concerts presented in Place des Arts are available at 514 842‑2112, at 1 866 842‑2112 toll free, or at laplacedesarts.com. Finally, tickets for Cabaret Juste pour rire and Bell Centre Amphithéâtre are available at Admission - admission.com, 514 790‑1245, toll free at 1 800 361‑4595.

Please note that fans can arrange their Francos holidays by visiting our website at http://www.francofolies.com/Francos2008/hotels_en.aspx .

Everything you need to know on les Francos

The free Official Pamphlet for the FrancoFolies contains all information concerning the 21st edition of the FrancoFolies de Montréal. It is available, starting today, from concert halls, most record and bookshops, public venues and major businesses in downtown Montreal. Outside of the metropolitan region, you can order a pamphlet by mail. All information is also available by calling the Vidéotron Info Francos line at 514 876‑8989 or, toll-free, at 1 888 444‑9114. Web surfers are cordially invited to visit the Francos Internet site at: francofolies.com. Get the jump on the crowd by subscribing to the Infolettre Spectra, and have all the news on this year’s FrancoFolies de Montréal shows delivered to your home.

It’s a date! The 21st edition of the FrancoFolies de Montréal, from Thursday, July 30 to Sunday, August 9, 2009.

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