Quebec’s Myriam Gendron brings traditional songs into the here and now, at the Alliance Française March 27
The singer-songwriter rearranges folk music with her finger-picking guitar and burnished alto voice as part of Unwritten Weekend
Myriam Gendron is at Alliance Française with Francis Baptiste on March 27 at 7:30 pm, as part of Unwritten Weekend
QUEBEC ARTIST MYRIAM Gendron’s stripped down folk music takes you back to the heyday of Montreal coffee houses and troubadors, and yet they have an unmistakable contemporary edge. As Pitchfork has put it, “she’s a masterful musical interpreter, transforming long-past art into present-tense vision”.
The beloved, bilingual Montreal-based singer-songwriter rearranges traditional songs with her finger-picking guitar and burnished alto voice in a rare visit to Vancouver this weekend, in the intimate space at the Alliance Française.
Expect pieces from across her three albums, including 2014’s Not So Deep As A Well, the breakout hit that sets Dorothy Parker’s poems to original acoustic guitar melodies; and 2021’s folk-infected Ma délire –Songs of love, lost & found, a profound exploration of love, longing, and loss that features inspired experimental acoustic arrangements.
The latest, 2024’s Mayday (Chivi Chivi, Thrill Jockey & Feeding Tube Records), features the moving single “Long Way Home”, a track whose refrain "Mother make my bed" is age-old motif in traditional songs that refers to returning home—sometimes to die. (See the video for it below to witness the way Gendron inflects every line with authentic yet understated emotion and meaning.)
Opening the show, Vancouver-based Indigenous artist Francis Baptiste will explore themes of cultural reclamation, addiction, and fatherhood.
It’s all part of Unwritten Weekend, the second-annual installment of a festival that celebrates music, art, and creativity from March 27 to 29, across the Alliance as well as the Hargrove, Red Gate, and 8East. 
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