MUSICAL CELEBRATION
Happening lineup at Ste-Thérèse fest
Did you realize there was a cool alternative cultural scene in Ste-Thérèse? Yeah, neither did I.
Julien Aidelbaum and Nycholas Fortin, however, know all about the neat things going on just north of Laval. That’s why these two enterprising guys from the area decided to create the Santa Teresa Festival, the second edition of which runs Friday through Sunday in Ste-Thérèse featuring a totally happening lineup. Artists on the bill include Feist, Lil Uzi Vert, Nick Murphy (formerly known as Chet Faker), Milk & Bone, Klô Pelgag, July Talk, The Voidz (a band fronted by The Strokes lead singer Julian Casablancas) and Wolf Parade.
“We’re both from the North Shore, we both love Ste-Thérèse and so we started talking and said: ‘Hey we should do a festival over here,’ ” said Fortin, during a recent interview alongside Aidelbaum.
Fortin runs the indie record label Chivi Chivi, which is home to the artists Helena Deland, Lydia Képinski and Nicolet. Aidelbaum was booking shows in the area.
“I have some kind of weird attachment to the suburbs,” said Aidelbaum, who is from Laval.
“There is a weird, interesting energy in Ste-Thérèse. There’s this main street (Blainville Ouest) with all the bars and venues.
In my job as a concert promoter in Laval, I would sometimes book shows in Ste-Thérèse and after a few discussions (with Nycholas), we were like — ‘This place is too crazy, we need to throw some kind of festival here.’ ”
One reason the suburb has a vibrant cultural scene is the presence of CEGEP LionelGroulx, which has noted music and theatre programs.
“There’s this fun vibe in Ste-Thérèse from September to June,” Aidelbaum said.
“And the festival comes at the end of the (CEGEP) session, and it’s in spring, so that kind of energy is in the DNA of the Santa Teresa Festival.”
“There’s this little village in old Ste-Thérèse and there’s a lot of super dynamic businesses,” said Fortin. “There’s a wine bar, you have pubs.”
They brought the project to the city administration; Mayor Sylvie Surprenant and her staff loved the idea. “It’s all about that youthful energy and we’re capitalizing on that vibe to build this event,” Aidelbaum said.
The two fest founders recently signed a four-year deal with the city to develop Santa Teresa.
“They wanted a big cultural event in Ste-Thérèse and we arrived with a nice project,” said Aidelbaum. “It’s all about timing.”
Two of the highest profile concerts will take place at the 1,200-capacity Église SainteThérèse-d’Avila. Feist performs there Friday. Pelgag headlines a unique show Sunday that is being billed as “La messe transfigurée par Klô Pelgag ”, with guests that include VioleTT Pi, tenor vocalist Marc Hervieux, and brass quintet Horn Stars. More shows will be held in eight other nearby venues.
In addition, there is an outdoor stage in the parking lot just outside City Hall. About 10,000 fans attended last year’s festival.
They admit people are still surprised by the existence of the festival. “People are like — ‘WTF, why are all these bands performing in Ste-Thérèse?’ ” said Aidelbaum. “We just want people to discover the festival, try it out once, live the experience and hopefully follow us in the next steps. There are a lot of nice festivals in Montreal. Osheaga is one of them. But our goal is to do something totally different.”
One difference is to keep it small. “Some artists, like Nick Murphy, who could be playing Osheaga, they realize that it might be nicer to be a headliner at a boutique festival like ours that’s smaller than to be on the third line of a poster for a ( bigger) festival,” said Fortin.
The Santa Teresa festival runs May 18-20. A three-day pass costs $96 and single-day passes for Saturday and Sunday sell for $51. The one-day pass for Friday is $26 because there are fewer shows. The passes get you into everything except the two concerts at the church. You can also simply show up for individual shows at the venues and you can pay for just one ticket on-site.
The capacity at the indoor venues, except for the church, range from 150 to 500 people and they are all within walking distance.
This year there are twice as many artists, roughly 80, and it’s a lot more international.
For more information or to buy tickets: santateresa.ca.
BIG BREAK FOR ROCKFEST FOUNDER’S BAND
The Montreal band Deadly Apples, fronted by Montebello Rockfest founder Alex Martel, will open for Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson on their 30-date North American tour this summer. The tour is called Twins of Evil — The Second Coming and runs from July 11 to Aug. 29. The only Canadian date is at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto July 26. (Zombie and Manson will play the Heavy Montréal festival on July 28, but Deadly Apples aren’t on the bill.)
Deadly Apples returned from a seven-year hiatus last year, reforming to play Rockfest, where they performed right before Rammstein. Since then, the band has toured around the globe, with a Japanese tour alongside Korn in March and a number of dates in Mexico, including gigs at Slipknot’s Knotfest and the Hell and Heaven Fest. Deadly Apples are also set to open for Deftones in South America in late May, after which they play Rockfest and Mexico’s Machaca fest in June.
Martel said in a phone interview this week that the Zombie/ Manson tour is a huge break.
“I think it’s a really big step for the band,” he said. “It’s been great playing all these international markets, but obviously the U.S. is the biggest market, so I think it’s going to be a career-changer.”
Deadly Apples recorded a full album, Petty, just before their hiatus, and they’re hoping to release it this fall. It was mixed by Vance Powell (Jack White, Arctic Monkeys) and was mastered by Bob Ludwig (Nirvana, Led Zeppelin).
The band went on hiatus when Martel became too busy running Rockfest. The 13th edition of the festival takes place from June 14 to 16 in Montebello, Que. The lineup includes Prophets of Rage, Weezer, Five Finger Death Punch, Godsmack, Tenacious D, Stone Temple Pilots, Lamb of God, Jimmy Eat World, Sum 41, Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Lagwagon, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Henry Rollins, the Exploited and Venom.