Simple Plan, Koriass and MORE rock the Festival de la Poutine

Thousands of people gathered in Drummondville, Quebec, from Aug. 22 to 24 for the Festival de la Poutine – an annual celebration on Quebecois food and music.

In its 12^th year, the festival took place in the parking lot around the Centre Marcel Dionne – the home arena of the QMJHL Drummondville Voltigeurs. The festival is promoted and supported by local rock band Les Trois Accords, who are superstars in their home province.

Although poutine is in the festival’s name, it really is more of a music festival. This year they added a second stage to accommodate more acts. Although the performers covered a variety of genres, from rock, to pop, to rap, to bluegrass, they all had one thing in common: they were all Quebecois! It was really nice to see a festival like that, able to bring in big, sold out crowds of people who want to support local music.

Festival attendees had a great selection of poutine to choose from. At over a dozen poutine trucks on the festival grounds, you can get your poutine topped with almost anything. On the menu, there was a jerk chicken poutine, a pogo poutine, Mexican poutine, vegan poutine and too many others to name. Of the poutines I got to try, my personal favourite was the General Toa Chicken Poutine from Poutine N° 800!

Each night, six artists performed on the festival’s two stages. On the first night, high school student William Gravel kicked things off on the smaller Scène Hydro-Quebec. Each year, Les Trois Accords gives out a prize to young aspiring musicians in Quebec, and the winner gets to perform at the Festival de la Poutine. Gravel was the winner of the high school category of the Trois Accords Prize, and he managed to draw a good crowd to his opening set.

Shortly after, Jerome 50 kicked things off on the main stage with his quirky indie rock performance, followed by Les Louanges, who drew an enthusiastic crowd on the opposite stage.

Montreal rapper Koriass was up next on the main stage, and he put on an outstanding performance. He was easily the highlight of my night there, proving that Queb rap really is a special type of rap.

Electro-pop duo Milk & Bone closed the second stage with a dark and sweet performance, while singer-songwriter Bernard Adamus led the main stage crowd in a passionate singalong to close out the night.

On day two, a group of Cégep de Drummondville students who won the Cégep category of the Trois Accords Prize opened things on the second stage. On the main stage, reggae/jazz/rap group Clay and Friends kicked things off with their feel-good vibes. Following them, pop singer Fanny Bloom brought her bright performance to the secondary stage.

Rock band Galaxies was up next on the main stage, and they were incredible! I don’t know how to fully classify them as a band, but it was almost like metal with enough added synthesizer to make their music very dance-worthy. Following them, the opposite stage continued the festival’s showcase of Queb rappers, with an upbeat performance from Fouki.

The evening’s main headliner was Montreal pop punk legends Simple Plan. Full disclosure, they’re my all-time favourite band, and I’ve seen them and met them several times. Regardless, it was very clear that their performance was very special for most of the crowd. Bassist David Desrosiers made one of his first public appearances in Quebec since-rejoining the band this summer. After taking a two-year break from music to recover from a severe depression, Desrosiers was all smiles, as fans welcomed him back with signs and held roses as the band walked on stage. For the most part, the crowd seemed very excited and engaged, giving the band a wonderful home province welcome. This performance was the highlight of my time at the festival, and I’m sure it was for many other people there.

On the final night of the festival, the gates opened a few hours earlier. Instead of a musical performance, the crowd first gathered around the second stage for a poutine cooking lesson from Quebecois celebrity chef Bob le Chef. Onstage, Bob demonstrated how to prepare a special poutine made with roasted potatoes, côtes levées ribs and his own custom gravy, made with bear, tomato sauce and several other ingredients. At the end of the demonstration, everyone in the crowd got to try a small sample of Bob’s creation, and let me tell you, it was delicious!

Ok, back to the music. First up on the smaller stage was rapper Robert Nelson. On the main stage, synth-rock band Choses Sauvages, who brought their own variety of wild stage antics to their performance. Next on the smaller stage was Lydia Képinski, who shocked her audience at the beginning of her performance by mysteriously appearing in the audience, holding her mic and singing.

Evening co-headliner Coeur de Pirate was next on the main stage. With a massive crowd ready to greet her, Coeur de Pirate delivered a fantastic and beautiful performance. Having seen her a few times before, any expectations I had from her were met. She brought her cheerful presence to the stage, and also seemed genuinely happy about how many people were in the crowd supporting her. Seeing Coeur de Pirate was definitely the heartwarming moment of the night.

Closing out the second stage of the festival was the Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project. This was not your typical bluegrass show, because both the band and the crowd were absolutely wild! Onstage, the unplugged quartet sang a number of Quebecois folk songs, while fans crowd-surfed and moshed. This performance was definitely an awesome surprise, and it brought out the best crowd of the festival.

Finally closing off the festival was Loud, arguably the biggest name in the Queb rap scene right now. Although I wasn’t happy with his choice of lighting at the beginning of his set (strong red/blue lighting is the worst for photographers), Loud put on a really great show! His fans were just as engaged, rapping back all of his lyrics. The best moment of his set was when he invited Coeur de Pirate back out on stage so they could perform their duet “Dans La Nuit.”

Overall, this festival was a great was to experience Quebecois culture through food and music. The performances were all great, and there was a food selection that could satisfy hopefully everyone, regardless of dietary restrictions or preferences. It’s also worth mentioning that tickets for this festival are comparably more affordable than most: $25 for a single day pass and $38 for the full three-day festival.

I really hope I can make it back to this festival next year. If you’re passing through Drummondville around August 2020, you might want to check it out as well. Check them out online for more information here: https://festivaldelapoutine.com/