The series of severe thunderstorms that swept across western Quebec on Thursday afternoon continued along the river and reached the capital in the evening, forcing the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) organization to make the decision to cancel all outdoor concerts scheduled in the Program. For their 11th participation in the festival, the Cowboys Fringants, who were to occupy the main stage of the Plains of Abraham, had concocted a “carte blanche” whose fans did not see the color: the evacuation of the site was announced ten minutes later before the start of the concert.
In anticipation of the gray clouds, the FEQ organization announced around 5 p.m. that the headliner concerts would be brought forward – Feist at 7 p.m. in the Parc de la Francophonie, Robert Charlebois at 6:30 p.m. in the Ebene, the Cowboys at 7 p.m. : 30 instead of the planned 9:30 p.m. However, the storms surprised the organization: “The forecasts indicate that the conditions are deteriorating faster than expected,” we shared with festival-goers via social networks.
“Lindbergh” was the last song Charlebois performed with her friend Louise Forestier just after 7 p.m., the rushed finale to an abbreviated concert. At 7.20 p.m. the announcement sounded from the loudspeakers: Because of the impending storm, the site – obviously up to a fifth fully occupied – had to be evacuated. The noise of the crowd expressed their disappointment; As the fans made their way to the exit, members of Les Cowboys Fringants appeared on stage. Lead singer Karl Tremblay took a moment to wave to the disappointed crowd and sang a few bars of the song “On my Shoulder” while Jean-François Pauzé accompanied him on stage on guitar.
Arriving from Montreal and driving via Shawinigan to pick up her friend Maude, Nadia was hoping to hear La Sainte Paix, “even though they don’t do it often,” she said after wiping away a small tear of disappointment. This Cowboys concert was going to be epic, they were sure. “We’ve already bought our tickets for her next show” on July 21 in Sherbrooke.
This is the second evening missed for the FEQ this week; Last Tuesday night, the rap poster in the spotlight on the Plains of Abraham went ahead without the concert of its headliner GloRilla (who himself came to replace rapper Lil Durk, who had called in sick) due to inclement weather.
In an interview with the Quebec branch of ICI Première yesterday afternoon, Louis Bellavance, artistic director of the festival, explained how the “crisis cell” made its decisions: The rain has little influence on whether or not concerts are held outside, rather The Winds and the expected presence of lightning within a radius of 10 km compels the organization, which has hired its own meteorologist, to act.
Once the Plains of Abraham had been evacuated, a long line formed outside the Armory, where the program continued: Chose Sauvage in DJ format, followed by the Alaclair Ensemble with local stars. The armory doors opened to the public at 8:30 p.m., about the time the rain and then lightning swept over Quebec.