We're a little bit backed up on getting my concert
photographs up here on The Old Blog. I suppose we will catch up at some
point, but this would be a good time to remind you that my concert photographs
can be seen in a much more timely manner by visiting V13 Media,
which you can do by following the link. If you'd like an even more direct
route to my photographs, you can visit my personal page over there but using
the following
link. As with past editions, this 37th edition of the
Francos de Montréal is very generous when it comes to providing big content for
little cost. The Rogers Stage, located
just across the street from the Place des Arts Complex can hold tens of
thousands of people. It is the main
stage where so many great singers
have performed, and countless numbers of fans
have had a great time. On this night,
the stage played host to one of Québec’s fast rising stars, Ariane Roy. Fresh off the release of her second album, Dogue, Ariane Roy
has been on a non-stop upward trajectory.
As the stage light began to dim, the mass of humanity began to cheer and
cheery louder. Exploding as their
favourite appeared at the top of a staircase near the back of the stage. Her set began with the title track of the new
album, ‘’Dogue”. As the song picked up
in beat, she gradually made her way to the front of the stage. Though only on album number two, the Ariane Roy who appears
on stage rocks 
like a seasoned veteran.
This all singing, all dancing and all playing entertainment machine was
on fire. From the opening note, she
exuded a confidence that one wouldn’t expect for their first performance before
such a huge crowd. As "Âmes soeurs" began to play, she was joined on stage by
a series of similarly dressed back-up singers at the back of the stage. While they stood there, Ariane Roy was
dancing up a storm. The crowd was working
up a sweat as well. Dancing up and down
enough to possibly shake the Metro users who were walking under their
feet. There must have been more than a
few hoarse voices the next morning as well as I could hear the fans singing
though my ear plugs just as well as I could Ariane. Only one
had the benefit of using a
microphone and P.A. system. There were some big name guests as well. Key collaborator Thierry Larose joined Ariane
to shred some guitar together during ‘’Coule’’.
She does that masterfully as well.
Her great friend Lou-Adriane Cassidy also hit the stage with Ariane to
close the show with a very powerful version of ‘’Fille à porter”. This wasn’t just a coming out
performance. This concert was a
statement. Ariane Roy held tens of
thousands of people in the palm of her hand, and partied with them. There is nothing that she can’t do, and it
promises to see what other amazing music acts she has waiting for us in the
future. All of Québec, and hopefully
beyond, should take notice. She isn’t going anywhere. All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 while using various different shutter speeds, ISO settings and focal lengths. Here are the rest of the photographs that I took of Ariane Roy while she performed at the Francos de Montréal.
If you would like to find out more about Ariane Roy and her music, you can do so by following the link to her website. Many thanks to Francos de Montréal and Christopher Gonda of V13 Media for getting me a pass to cover the event. It is very much appreciated. Ariane Roy will be performing all around Québec this Summer. Don't you dare miss it when she performs in a city near you.
