LA SOIRÉE DES RETROUVAILLES
Friday, August 30 2024
LAURIE LEBLANC
Laurie LeBlanc was born in 1968 in Shemogue, New Brunswick. At the age of 10, his family moved to Bouctouche, where he met his future wife Jeannette and guitarist Pierre LeBlanc. Despite his shyness, he discovered his passion for music. In 1995, he sang publicly for the first time at a wedding, kickstarting his music career. He formed the band Zarico in 1999 and recorded two French albums. In 2009, he successfully launched his solo career, winning awards and performing across Canada. In 2020, he released his first English album of original compositions, “When It’s Right It’s Right,” marking a pivotal moment in his career. In 2022, he released “Long Weekend,” a double EP in French and English.
ÉVANGÉLINE AND GABRIEL DANCE
Saturday, August 31 2024
RÉVEIL
Southeastern New Brunswick band Réveil considers their appearance at the Acadian Festival a high point of their summer, a tradition highly anticipated as they know they’ll be welcomed with open arms by the crowd in Abrams-Village. As always, Réveil performance will be 100% French music, with a traditional Acadian feel, and energy that promises to get everyone dancing! Recognized as one of Acadie’s most popular musical groups, Réveil is made up of Matt Hayes on fiddle, Joey McKinnon on drums, Marc Léger on bass guitar, Nancy Blanchard on vocals, Brian Hébert on electric guitar, Kevin Arsenault on vocals and acoustic guitar, and Richard Bourque on mandolin, acoustic guitar and banjo. Over the years, Réveil has recorded four albums: Sans problème (2007), Ah! Qu’il fait beau! (2009), On y va!!! (2012) and Allez, buvez (2016). The original songs on the album were written by brother-sister duo Kevin Arsenault and Nancy Blanchard. In spring 2023, they went back to the studio to record their energetic hit “Olé, olé, les Acadiens”.