LASSO 2002: A Cowboy State of Mind – Day Two

On Saturday, I was pumped as soon as I got on Parc Jean-Drapeau’s ground. One of my favourites of this weekend’s lineup was playing first.

Brittany Kennel has a great album, I Ain’t a Saint, has an exciting live act and a magnificent voice. Moreover, she’s a local artist. I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed. The songs were great, she gave all she had, and still went to meet the crowd after her show. This was a huge moment for her: playing a big stage festival in her hometown. She enjoyed every minute of it.

Another local act, Five Roses, took the stage right after. The duo has great chemistry, and they sing very well together; their New Country is contagious and so is their stage presence. Fun was had by all, and the 30 minutes set went by far too quickly.

I went straight to Scène du Ranch to see another great local artist. Léa Jarry has a great album out, L’heure d’été. She has a great show that I’ve already seen a few times, and I was looking forward to seeing her again. Unfortunately, there were technical problems, and she started late. I barely caught the first song before I had to rush back to see the next artist.

Matt Lang is an amazing performer. He is an extremely popular local act. He welcomes you in his Honky Tonk for the evening of your life. His music is very 90s inspired, with twangy guitars, huge drums and huge vocals. Yet, he is totally down-to-earth, and has fun with the audience and his musicians.

Next, came Breland. Two words to describe him: soulful and energetic. His soul-inspired New Country already had a lot of fans in the audience, and his stage presence gained him a lot more.

I see Tim Hicks as the Canadian Eric Church. Obviously, his look and his voice are somewhat similar, but they also have the same drive, and a track record that speaks for itself. Tim did not waste any time; drawing from his impressive back catalogue, he played hit after hit, relentlessly.

Fellow Canadians The Reklaws were next. The Walker siblings are as popular as they are friendly. Jenna and Stuart gave quite a show, playing a mix of hits, and many drinking songs, as they usually do. Their show was over far too quickly.

Riley Green took the stage next. He’s an extremely talented songwriter, but I found his performance was a bit lacking. After half a day of bombastic Country, huge fun, big music, his set was too intimate for my taste. He seemed a little out of place. I would gladly go to see him in a more intimate setting, though.

Kelsea Ballerini gave a performance to be remembered: big visual effects, huge sound, 3-tier stage and more hits than seems possible. Her heavily pop-influenced Country has won her many awards; anyone listening to Country radio knows at least a few of her songs. It’s no surprise that the crowd went crazy when she appeared, and never dropped in intensity.

Finally, the one people had been waiting 3 years to see took the stage. Luke Bryan reminded us that he had also been disappointed to wait such a long while before coming back to Montreal. Ask anyone who was there that evening, and they’ll tell you it was worth the wait. Mixing slower songs and party songs, everybody got their fill. He played about 20 songs, from almost all his albums.

I’m sure Evenko will do a debriefing in the next few days. What worked and what didn’t. I’d like to offer a few comments.

• The organization, the accommodations, the layout of the festival grounds was great. Evenko knows how to run a festival and that knowledge was apparent everywhere.
• Country fans are nice people. There were about 35,000 people this weekend and I did not notice any disorderly conduct. People having a little too much fun, yes, but nothing serious.
• The whole Country theme was well thought out, but a few details could be corrected for the next edition. The music playing between the shows, the music playing near the Ferris Wheel should not be pop or EDM. Give us more Country, we can’t get enough of it!
• What’s the deal with having a festival on a Friday afternoon? There was noticeably more people on Saturday, when a lot less people are working.

I appreciated the whole idea of creating a diverse lineup. I strongly believe all groups of people should be represented. That being said, I feel the more traditional country has been left out. Obviously LASSO could not feature George Strait or Miranda Lambert on their first edition, but artists like Brent Cobb, Morgan Wade, Carly Pearce, The Wild Feathers or Brandy Clark would totally fit the bill. I even dream of special events like The Highwomen or The Pistol Annies; now that would be a masterstroke. In the meanwhile, I’m already looking forward to the lineup of LASSO 2023, which will be presented on Aug. 18 and 19.