Acadie rocks Montreal with biggest showing of Acadian talent ever in Quebec

More than a dozen Acadian artists took over the stage at the FrancoFolies festival in Montreal on Wednesday night, including Rosaireville's Lisa LeBlanc, who had the entire crowd singing along with her.

La Soirée Acadie Rock was the biggest showcase of Acadian talent ever held in Quebec, according to Music NB executive director Jean Surette, who described the concert as "epic."

"I was trying to figure out, OK, how many of these people are here because of the music, how many are curious and how many are discovering this for the first time," Surette told Information Morning Moncton.

​Surette says many lesser known artists also performed as part of the show, with indie-singer and songwriter Pierre Guitard getting a big response from the huge crowd.

"His [performance] in particular went over really well, so I think he was a bit surprised and I think he'll be getting a lot of hits on his Spotify and his Apple Music today."

Surette said the recent debate about whether it is necessary for artists to identify themselves as Acadian has been interesting.

He said it is clear from the show that Acadian artists have expanded far beyond the traditional music of fiddles and accordions.

"It was a really good, very diverse show ... it was really a mixed bag of all sorts of styles," Surette said.

Surette, who played during the concert with les Païens, said the two days of rehearsals ahead of the show "was like a family reunion."

He sees the benefits of showcases such as La Soirée Acadie Rock, especially for lesser known artists.

"Pretty soon I don't think we'll be needing that label as much," Surette said. "And it'd be great, in my opinion anyway, that the artists don't need that label to get attention or get people to listen."

The show also included Joseph Edgar, Marie-Jo Thério, Menoncle Jason, Vishten, Jacques Jacobus, Gabriel L.B. Malenfant, Céleste Godin, Caroline Savoie, Amélie Hall and Jean-Paul Daoust.