MUSIC BONDS DION FAMILY
Céline Dion was at the Monument-National theatre on Wednesday to support her brother Jacques and his wife Geneviève Garceau’s comeback. The country-folk duo had taken a 14-year break from performing to care for their son. Kelsey Litwin has details.
Jacques Dion and Geneviève Garceau’s tour announcement was a family affair, as the Dion clan filled the intimate Monument-National theatre Wednesday evening.
And just as he had for her at the beginning of her career, Céline was front and centre, supporting her older brother’s revitalized music career.
It was pure joy to watch them perform, Céline said following the short set, during which the renowned singer had been smiling and clapping along. She occasionally wiped away tears as she reached for her 90-year-old mother’s hand.
“Geneviève has been a great source of inspiration,” Céline said, recalling listening to Garceau sing as a young woman. “I’ve always found that she has control of her voice. Since then … time has passed by her vocal cords.”
It had been 14 years since the folk-country duo last stepped onto the stage, Jacques said. Their son Jimmy had a skiing accident that left him partially paralyzed, forcing the couple to pull back from the industry to take care of him. His mother accompanied him to classes as he completed a bachelor’s degree in screenwriting while Jacques worked as a music agent from home.
Looking at their son, now living on his own and working as a screenwriter for a film company, “nothing is impossible in life,” said Garceau, dismissing the fears she had about getting back into music.
“Now it’s (Jimmy) who’s encouraging us to return to the stage,” Jacques said. “He tells us, ‘Go ahead, sing, Maman, Papa. It’s what you do best.’”
Dion and Garceau are returning with an eponymous album, which is set to be released at the end of the year. They will be promoting the new album with a tour they’re appropriately naming Nouveau Départ, which translates to New Start.
No stranger to composing music — Jacques is credited with having written Céline’s 1981 breakout single Ce n’était qu’un rêve — he explained that while he had some songs in the bank when Jimmy moved out last year, it felt like the right time to pick up the guitar again and start writing more songs.
Five Quebec dates for their Eastern Canada tour have already been announced, with a pre-tour show on Sept. 26 at Medley Simple Malt at 6206 St-Hubert St. Maritime show dates are expected to come as well.