Words and Photos by Nora Loreto. Nora is a writer based in Quebec City. She’s the author of several books and co-host of the popular podcast Sandy and Nora Talk Politics. For more on Nora, head to her website here.
C’est trop nice à l’épicerie, the woman ahead of me says to her friend. She’s right. It’s absolutely trop nice to be at a music festival in a grocery store. In front of me are melons, lemons, limes and just beyond, Naomi, a Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist.
Tonight, she turns the Marché Tradition into a club. Everyone, the cashiers included, are grooving to the sound of her smooth voice, creative beats, sensual lyrics. By the end of the night, everyone is jumping to Hershey’s Kiss, her latest single. Most of the crowd are there to see Naomi, but some are there to buy groceries on this Thursday evening in Quebec City’s St-Roch neighbourhood. A guy walking and bopping passes by me, carrying celery and mushrooms.
Welcome to St-Roch XP, an annual music festival that takes over St. Joseph street for three days to feature emerging artists. The event is put on by Bleufeu – the same group who runs Quebec City’s annual summer festival, the Festival d’été de Québec – and is a must to see up-and-coming musicians from Quebec and beyond.
Marché Tradition is the only grocery story with a festival stage. But some of the shows are in bars, the public library, on street stages, in empty stores, in cafés. The diversity of options means that when the street events are rained out, as was the case on the first night of the festival, the show still goes on.
The place
The ninth edition of St. Roch XP ran from August 27-29 and featured 74 acts on 17 stages, confined to a 750 metre stretch of St. Roch’s principal commercial street, St. Joseph St. There were also thirty food stands stretching the length of the festival, a children’s program and three ticketed chef presentations. Think NXNE, but without needing to get into a cab.
There is no general admission to St. Roch XP. With the exception of a few extras, including Saturday night’s closer Coeur de pirate, everything is free.
One of the best features of St. Roch XP is that the musicians perform more than once. Prince Edward Island’s Christine Campbell played a solo show at the Marché Tradition, pared down from her musical partner Blake Johnson with whom she performs under Campbell and Johson (“I know, it sounds like an insurance company” she tells the crowd). Campbell dazzled with her blues guitar skills and strong vocals, and even invited her mother up to sing a Dolly Parton song with her. Later that night, she played another set beside the Gabrielle-Roy library.
The stages and venues were as much a part of the experience as the bands themselves. Naomi in a grocery store was upstaged by Naomi in Quebec City’s now-closed Benjo, a famous children’s toy store. With more space, Naomi was louder and the crowd, more rowdy. She sang in front of a façade of a doll house.
Watching New York-based punk rock act Balaclava at night on a small street stage on St. Joseph St. was a very different experience than seeing them during the day in front of the towering St. Roch church. On the street, there was less than a foot between the stage and the audience, with a giant cloud of smoke hovering above the crowd, illuminated by the stage’s bright nighttime lights. Out front of the St. Roch church though, Balaclava performed above the crowd on the church’s landing. The band’s first song was punctuated by the church’s 6:00 PM bells. My friend told me I had to see them, and he was right, though he called them by the name for balaclava in French, Les cagoules.
One stage was on the other side of a door that looked as if it were temporarily propped open leading to a bare, white, industrial basement. I couldn’t see the band but they were playing fast, loud and melodic punk music. The staircase was lined by people on either side and as I pushed my way down and to the front, I discovered that this powerful sound was coming from three teenagers – the London, Ontario-based trio Thunder Queens. The band, though young, are already punk veterans, having founded the Thunder Queens when they were just 10 and 11 years old.
Had I not been with my own 12 year old (who has not yet formed a rock band … disappointing!), their unmistakable Southern Ontario punk vibe would have taken me back to the punk show of my own teenage years, whether at my local Optimist Club “hall” (the size of a house basement) or the multipurpose room above the local arena in Milton. Their multi-part harmonies driven by Lola Good’s aggressive and tight drumming is reminiscent of PUP (which makes sense, given that their latest album was produced by Dave Schiffman, who has also worked with PUP). The energy was so crazy that for every person who left, it seemed like five people arrived, packing into the small room. When there was nowhere left to go, people grabbed balcony seats by just sitting on the staircase making the staircase nearly impossible to get through.
The next day, I caught Toronto’s Murray Drive in the same space. The front of the crowd was a semicircle of toddlers, as their parents swayed back and forth behind them. Sarah Carmosino’s clear and lovely vocals created a warm ambience that could not have been more different than what the Thunder Queens had pulled off the night before.
Francophone celebration
Despite the many bands from English North America, St. Roch XP is first and foremost, a celebration of French-language music. Quebec punches above its weight in creating superstars, and accessible events like St. Roch XP give artists the chance to become known, build an audience and practice their stagemanship to a crowd that may not have any idea who they are.
I caught Vinni Payne playing outside of a deli with a band in front of a large sign that said CAUCHON NATION. With his guitar and lowkey raspy voice, the crowd stayed wrapt for the whole set. Similarly, Samuel Bourgeois’ classic francophone singer-songerwriter sound grabbed passers-by, growing his crowd throughout his set. Éléonore Dessureault’s jazzy and airy sound filled the park beside Gabrielle Roy library. Using her ethereal voice as an instrument, she harmonized with her guitarist’s slide guitar which sounded more like a theremin than a stringed instrument.
From down the street, the crowd’s cheers for France-based Max Baby were huge. I didn’t realize that Baby (his real name) was physically in the crowd and dancing with the people gathered on the street. The crowd was blown away by his high energy classic synth rock/pop sound, reminiscent of Wolf Parade. Baby’s energy was contagious and each side of the three-sided stage called for their turn to dance with him, which he obliged.
My biggest highlight was the programming at the Motel Acadie, organized by the Société nationale de l’Acadie. It was set up in one of my favourite former clothing stores as a showcase of the best in Acadian music, culture and food. Acadian books were placed in bookshelves with seats nearby, a photo booth was set up with a fishing net and some fake fish caught inside. And The Kilted Chef prepared bouchés for the crowd who had streamed in for the music.
The band La grosse équipe, clad in hockeyesque band jerseys, performed high energy Acadian music. Their heavy guitars and drums gave off a 90s rock vibe, mixed with country and an East Coast flavour. Upon entering the space, several people looked to the person they were with, with a “this is good” nod and facial expression. While the crowd called for an encore, the New Brunswick-based group said that the schedule was too tight, and they had to decline.
I also caught ABOiTEAU, a band that reminded me of the Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly, ABOiTEAU, but in French. Rooted in the folk music tradition of storytelling, the group set the Motel Acadie on fire, driven by the fiddle work of Janelle Melanson. Lead singer Christian Brideau asked the crowd, “Voulez-vous un party cuisine acadienne??” and they riled up the crowd with an electrifying, Acadian ceilidh.
The pride was hardly only for Acadians and Acadie. Quebec City-based Tes amants closed their set with a very groovy, maximalist song that played around with rhythms and tones. but not before their guitarist riffed out Quebec’s unofficial national anthem, Gens du pays, from his guitar played behind his head.
The extras
St. Roch XP also featured several DJs, who created veritable dancefloors in the middle of St. Joseph St. Under a canopy of strips of red cellophane, the DJ booths ensured that pretty much anywhere you walked along St. Joseph St., you heard music. On Friday night, during DJ Derrick’s set, nearly 100 people danced with their arms in the air, almost within earshot of the hard stoner rock being played by Balaclava.
Similarly, the food was diverse, interesting and abundant. Thirty local restaurants lined the street with a special street food menu, including Michelin starred restaurants Honō Izakaya and Kundah Hotel. I grabbed a rice and pea bowl from the brand new Haitian restaurant Déli St-Jo, which I accidentally left at the Marché Tradition during Naomi’s set (sorry!) In fairness, I left the supermarket with my hands full of bananas. When at a super market …
What I loved most about the festival is that no one checked my bags. No one stopped me from entering a venue because of the food or drink I had in my hands. At Marché Tradition, owner and municipal councillor Éric Courtemanche Baril met every person at the door to give their opened drink a sticker, so that no one would be mistaken for someone who grabbed a beer off his shelves without first paying for it.
My kids were able to follow me around everywhere and run into their own friends along the way. While my one old person complaint is the venues don’t have enough chairs, there is more than enough seating along St. Joseph St. and at some of the outdoor stages to allow someone to rest and eat with others at a picnic table.
Quebec City may be known for its Festival d’été but if you’re looking to check out the best in up-and-coming acts, you’ll want to aim to visit Quebec City at the end of next summer. Keep an eye out for Bleufeu’s announcement of the St. Roch XP 2027 dates, likely near the end of August. This free festival is a real gem, not to be missed by music fans who love the festival vibe, especially when it’s well curated, full of services and incredibly, free of cost.
Learn more about St. Rock XP on their website.
For more from Nora Loreto, head to https://noraloreto.ca/
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