For 2025, multidisciplinary artist Soleil Launière chose to bring forward the solstice ceremony to June 11, and celebrate it in the company of musicians she loves. Let’s just say that the evening was a success.
It began with traditional native drums, then gave way to keyboards and electric guitars. Soleil Launière took to the stage with the kind of traditional panache that has become her trademark. And it all kicked off with tracks from her 2023 album Taueu, an increasingly refined blend of tradition and the musical present.
Then began the well-crafted parade of female songwriters from different backgrounds: Berber Moroccan Nukad, Klo Pelgag, Cree Arachnid, Wendat Eadsé, Jorane and her cello, Dominique Fils-Aimée and the duo VioleTT Pi, the only male presence in this very feminine-feminist show. And that’s just as well.
All this was generally of a fairly high calibre. But the best moments came when the artists dialogued with Soleil Launière. I’m thinking in particular of Nukad, whose Maghrebian tradition blends perfectly with that of the Aboriginals, Jorane, very inspired and tapping furiously on her cello to play First Nations percussionist. And what can we say about Dominique Fils-Aimé, who, after a vocal solo that sent shivers down Club Soda’s spine, harmonized with Soleil Launière and the voices of accompanists Chloé Lacasse and Geneviève Toupin. It was pure vocal bliss.
It’s worth noting: the work of the accompanying band cemented this eclectic concert in a wonderful way. In addition to guitarist Simon Walls, there was the group Chances: Vincent Carré on drums, Chloé Lacasse on vocals and keyboard and Geneviève Toupin, aka Willows, on vocals, keyboards and guitars. What voices these women have!
There was another anonymous star: a one-year-old baby, who clapped his hands constantly and squealed with delight at the end of the first few songs.
It was a wonderful evening! As proof, my friend Gilles, a Belgian-born political scientist now living in India, who accompanied us yesterday and didn’t know any of the artists, came away completely enchanted by the event.
What more to say….Other than: Vive le métissage and the new wave of Indigenous music!
