I’m proud to receive two nominations for the Trille Or Awards! The categories are Best Album from Western Canada and Best New-Coming Artist (Western Canada).

I share this honour with my friends and co-nominees: Alexis Normand, Les Surveillantes, Marijosée, Michel Lalonde, Daniel ROA, and Anique Granger.

The Awards Gala will take place on March 21st in Orleans, Ontario, and will be broadcast live nationwide on Espace Musique. It will also be rebroadcast in the West on Radio-Canada the same day at 7:30 PM local time.

It’s that time of the year, when Whyte Avenue takes on a French accent. I’m stoked that the Edmonton Chante Festival has invited me again this year to perform two shows:

• October 4, 7:30 PM, Two Rooms Café, 10324 - 82 Ave
• October 5, 9 PM, Kasbar, 10444 - 82 Ave (under Yanni’s)

See You there!

ACFA Awards Gala

In other exciting news, the ACFA (Alberta’s provincial Francophone association) is hosting their annual Awards Gala, and I happen to be this year’s guest artist! That’s on October 13 at the Timms Centre for the Arts in Edmonton.

I have the honour of being the “parrain” (literally, the “Godfather”, which sounds strangely ominous in English… let’s just call it the “guest Mentor”) of Chant’Ouest 2012, the second stage of a singer/songwriter competition in Western Canada. The two winners goes on to the Festival International de Granby in Quebec. This year’s finalists are Sylvie Walker, Guy Abraham, Paul Cournoyer and Hélène Beaulieu.

The show is at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse this Thursday, and will be broadcast in the Western provinces on Radio-Canada in the following weeks.

Check out a few highlights from my summer, in pictures.

I’m going to be performing in La Belle Province next week.

• April 19 (next thursday!), I’m playing at the beautiful Lion D’Or in Montreal, for the Vue Sur La Relève festival. I’m preparing an intimate show : piano/guitar, trombone, and trumpet only! I will be sharing the stage that night with Klô Pelgag and Simon Kingsbury. It will be a night to remember, guaranteed!
• Saturday April 21, I’ll be on stage in Repentigny (with special guests), at the St-Maurice live pub. If you are in Montreal an can’t come to the Thursday show, by all means come to Repentigny on Saturday…

There are pictures online of a few good moments we had on the road. We enjoyed the warm welcome we received everywhere along the way, and it was lots of fun getting to know you all! A big thanks to the Réseau des Grands Espaces, to Musicaction, to the organizing committees, to my musicians (Julian Bradford, Ivan Burke and Eric Burke), and to everyone who came out to see us play!

See you again soon I hope!

Next Friday marks the start of a Western (and Northern) Canadian tour. The kickoff show happens here in Winnipeg, at the Festival du Voyageur. I’ll be accompanied by Julian Bradford, Ivan Burke and Eric Burke (as well as Dave Landreth for a couple of dates).

For all the details, see the Shows section of the site. Hope to see you along the way!

A big thanks to Musicaction for the financial support, and to the Réseau des grands espaces, for the help in coordinating the tour.

Another day, another challenge. I love my job… Really, I do! This month I’m part of a theatre production, L’Homme de la Mancha (Man of La Mancha), presented by l’Unitheatre. I am co-musical director (along with Jason Kodie), and I have two acting roles as well.

If you’re in Edmonton, you should definitely come check it out. There are English surtitles for those of you who don’t speak French. It plays through February 19, at the Cité Francophone theatre.

I would like to remind you that independent and local music makes a great Christmas gift!

And by strange coincidence, for a limited time, you can purchase a copy of my album PLUS a beautiful recycled paper notebook, together for a discounted price.

Check out the offer here.