Le Winston Band brings upbeat zydeco-, Cajun-, and French Canadian-influenced music to Festival du Bois
The Montreal five-piece honours Louisiana’s musical culture while doing its own Québécois-infused thing
Le Winston Band. Photo by Toma Iczkovits/Agence QMI.
Festival du Bois (April 1 to 3) presents Le Winston Band on April 2 at 2:30 pm and April 3 at 12:20 pm at Mackin Park in Coquitlam.
AT AGE 16, Montreal’s Antoine Larocque was working in a store that sold used CDs when someone brought in a huge collection of Cajun and zydeco discs. It was a revelation for the Le Winston Band founder and frontman, then a fan of folk, blues, and Americana, who had never heard the foot-stomping Louisiana musical styles before.
“I didn’t know that music existed; it’s not really well-known in Quebec,” Larocque says on the line from a Nanaimo breakfast joint during a BC tour stop. “It had all the elements of music that I love in French, with accordion and violin; there were traditional aspects I could relate to with my Québécois identity.
“I started to play the accordion and went to Louisiana when I was 21 for six months,” he adds. “It was a turning point. It is such rich music, such great music, that I knew I wanted to dedicate my musical life to it.”
Two years after that 2013 sojourn to the southern U.S., Le Winston Band was formed, Larocque teaming up with friends Vincent Fillion (guitar, vocals), Antoine Fallu (electric bass, vocals), Andrew Duquette-Boyte (rubboard/frottoir, triangle, vocals), and Gregory Fitzgerald (drums, vocals). The five-piece, which has performed across Canada, Europe, and the States, is coming to Maillardville for the 2022 Festival du Bois. The 33rd annual event features an eclectic mix of concerts by artists from across the country as well as kids’ activities, workshops, food, a market area, and more.
Together, the artists of Le Winston Band have spent time in Louisiana to connect with the people and culture there. And while they are deeply inspired by zydeco and Cajun music, they have developed their own distinct style that combines French Canadian folk, roots, blues, and contemporary rock music.
“We really try to blend that Louisiana aspect with our own identity,” Larocque says. “It was really good for the band to go to Louisiana, to go to the roots; we love the musical culture. But we don't want to copy exactly what’s being done in Louisiana.
“We do a lot of traditional Québécois tunes with classic Cajun and zydeco and original songs with our own lyrics and songs where we talk about our own lives,” he says. “There are some love songs and some that go back to our childhood and songs about our day-to-day life. Some songs are more dark and more political. We have a song called “En Haut de la Montagne”—“On Top of the Mountain” — that fits well in B.C.”
In 2019, the musicians recorded Zig Zag Zydeco Zoo at Montreal’s Studio Sophronik, the 14-song album going on to be nominated for some of Quebec’s most prestigious music awards, including GAMIQ 2019 for best album—world music—of the year.
During the pandemic, the group took to virtual shows, including a performance at last year’s streamed Festival du Bois, where it was a breakout hit. Its raucous style, however, is not one that easily translates to computer screens. The artists are beyond excited about performing in front of live audiences at the 2022 fest.
“It was hard for us to keep the project going online; we’re really a live band,” Larocque says. “When we play, the audience is part of the show. People dance, and we need that so that the music makes sense.
“I like the joy that it brings to people,” he adds. “I like the groove. It has a really specific kind of groove and a lot of feelings to it, so it’s really about having fun and grooving together. The way we’ve all been living these two last years, it’s really good to have that kind of fun gathering with live music again.”
For more information, see Festival du Bois.
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