Disco Dancin’ at the National Arts Centre?

What happens when you combine the National Arts Centre Orchestra, a sequin bodysuit and a trash folk banjo-playing dynamo from rural New-Brunswick?

As part of their Sessions series, the NAC welcomed Lisa LeBlanc and her band to perform live with their orchestra in grand Southam Hall. The popularity of the Acadian singer’s stripped-down, gritty songs and roots–rock–country blend is undeniable. She has been amassing fans throughout Canada and abroad over the years and in 2022, she released a new original album, Chiac Disco, coproduced with her associate Benoît Morier. Chiac Disco was another success for the songstress. Described as her version of a musical Timbit dipped in rhinestones, the album is a vibrant collection of songs with a sixties, sometimes seventies feel with a bit of glamour and a whole lot of dirt. With its eye-popping strings, its precise beats filled with soul and the bursts of trumpets and trombones, the whole album breathes joie de vivre.

That same joie de vivre was on full display in the usually grand and sober Southam Hall. Many wondered just what she and her band would sound like accompanied by the orchestra. Would she deliver a less enigmatic performance? Would she play a little more quietly, girate a little less on stage, tell a few less jokes? Not to worry. Although she came dressed for the occasion, if you looked closely she was still wearing her shit kickers underneath all those sparkles. Asking the crowd if there were francophones present she received a resounding yes. Asking if there were Acadians in the crowd, the response was equally boisterous. Finally, she asked if there was anyone from Rogersville present and based on the response quipped that there were more people in the audience from Rogersville than there are currently in Rogersville.

From J’pas un cowboy to Gossip and finishing off with everyone’s favorite crappy day anthem Aujourd’hui ma vie c’est d’la marde, her vocal talents were only outmatched by her skills on the acoustic and electric guitars and of course the banjo. Her band was tight and the voluminous accompaniment of the orchestra was surprisingly beautiful and didn’t seem forced or strange even for the more upbeat tunes. It sounded like they put a lot of effort into making sure that she was the star attraction but making her and her band sound even richer, particularly as she belted out the catchy fan favorite Pourquoi Faire Aujourd’hui.

If you are a Lisa LeBlanc live show virgin, please do yourself a favor and go see her do her thing. She’s bilingual, she’s fun, she’s extremely talented, and she is an excellent role model for francophones in official language minority communities like Rogersville New-Brunswick. I can tell you that it made this acadian proud to see her strut her stuff on the biggest stage in the country.

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