Wednesday, May 14th, 2014 - Acadian Artists Statement

Acadian Artists

Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, today I would like to tell you about the success that a number of Acadian artists have been experiencing lately at the regional, national and international levels. Over the past few years, more and more Acadian artists have been getting noticed beyond Acadia and Canada. Most of them are young ambassadors who exude Acadian culture wherever they go. You can be sure that folks at home are all very proud of them.

Just recently, Acadians watched proudly as Caroline Savoie, a young singer-songwriter from Dieppe, charmed all of France on that country's version of The Voice, becoming one of 16 finalists. Very few young artists have performed in front of an audience of up to nine million viewers before the age of 20. Despite being eliminated from the competition, Caroline will never forget what a wonderful experience she had.

She will pursue her artistic development in Granby, a place that has welcomed many Acadian and francophone artists, including Lisa LeBlanc of Rosaireville. She won top honours at the Festival international de la chanson de Granby in September 2010, and her career has since taken off. In October 2012, she released her first album to critical and popular acclaim. It sold 80,000 copies, going platinum. She has given over 400 performances across Canada, in Europe and in the United States, been nominated for or won many awards, and more. Lisa radiates the spirit of Acadia around the world.

Another band, the Hay Babies, recently released its first album. The band is made up of three Acadians in their early twenties from three different Acadian communities. They are Vivianne Roy, from Rogersville; Katrine Noël, from Dalhousie; and Julie Aubé, from Memramcook.

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The Hay Babies began by playing local venues and then slowly but surely released an album and began playing festivals in Canada and Europe, sharing their Acadian warmth and culture with everyone. These young Acadian musicians are following in the footsteps of other artists such as 1755, Radio Radio, Natasha St-Pier, Kit Goguen and Zachary Richard.

I would be remiss if I did not point out the importance of the various galas and events, such as the Gala de la chanson de Caraquet, the École nationale de la chanson de Granby's international festival, La Francofête and Accros de la chanson, that provide a venue exclusively for Acadian and francophone artists. Year after year, these events continue to provide an exceptional opportunity for our young artists who are trying to get their break and live their passion for music.

Honourable senators, please join me in congratulating our artists and encouraging them to share the many wonderful facets of Canadian culture with people across the country and throughout the world.

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