If you’re looking to expand your appreciation of the many diverse genres of music Metro Moncton offers, the Moncton Farmer’s Market is the place to be today, starting at 4:30 p.m.
There, eight artists, both solo and groups, will be taking the stage to take part in Fête de la Musique, a day of eliminating the barriers between genres and celebrating the diversity that music has to offer.
The origins of World Music Day or Fête de la Musique date back to 1982, when it began in France. The celebratory day of music is now marked in more than 100 countries every June 21 and is guided by the principles of offering free performances in public spaces and voluntary participation by professional and amateur musicians from all musical genres.
This year’s edition of Fête de la Musique offers a diverse bill of music for listeners including percussion trio Triolet d’Nord, jazz singer Lina Boudreau, pop-punk band Catharsis and the Codiac RCMP Pipes and Drums Band.
Jean Surette, executive director of Music New Brunswick says that heading into the event, the organizing committee shared the common vision of wanting to bring as many people together in one location as possible. Jean believes that this year’s lineup has done just that, offering a family-friendly start to the evening while also catering to a more mature audience in the second half of the show.
“Once our theme and goals were clear, we tried to ensure that we had some names on the bill that people would recognize while mixing that talent with some emerging or community-based musicians,” Jean says. “The Codiac RCMP Pipe and Drums and the school band from le Harmonie de l’école Carrefour de l’Acadie are good examples of that, mixed with Lina Boudreau who is someone that the francophone community knows well.”
Jean estimates that the organizers received approximately 25 applications from artists and groups from Southeastern New Brunswick who were interested in participating in Fête de la Musique. He admits that the organizers learned a valuable lesson from last year’s celebration when they tried to fit in too much talent into the run of one day.
“We had good intentions last year but we tried to program too many artists in too many places and I think that people really didn’t know where to go,” Jean says. “Knowing Moncton and all the diverse styles of music that we have in the region, I knew that it would be a difficult selection process, especially with us having narrowed down the available number of showcase slots from 20 to eight.”
Even with the small bill at this year’s event, Jean is confident that this year’s edition of Fête de la Musique will be a success and encourages everyone to take part in the celebration.
“Fête de la Musique is all about bringing music to people’s lives and helping them discover new artists when they are in that state of being open to new genres of music. We want to encourage all to come have fun with your family and enjoy some great, free local music!”
Article published in June 21, 2011 edition of the Times & Transcript