Famous places in his memory, flags at half-mast, suggested national funerals, celebratory gatherings: Quebecers are shocked by the all-too-precipitous death of Karl Tremblay and have been honoring the memory of their beloved, dashing cowboy since Wednesday.
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On Thursday morning, Prime Minister François Legault promised that the singer, who died of prostate cancer at the age of 47, would be entitled to a state funeral if his family accepted his proposal.
“We really feel a huge wave of love and sadness. I’ve rarely seen that, I don’t remember seeing that in Quebec. […] I want all Quebecers who want to pay tribute to him to be able to do so,” said Mr. Legault.
At this time, the date of the funeral has not been announced.
In L’Assomption, where Karl Tremblay lived with his lover Marie-Annick Lépine and their children, the public square becomes Place Karl-Tremblay.
“This will be his little forever place in our community. If he knew him, he would be happy but embarrassed. He said he wasn’t that important, it was his band, he was just doing his job. He was like that, Karl,” confided the mayor of the city and friend of the deceased, Sébastien Nadeau.
Honors everywhere
Tributes continued to pour in throughout the day. While admirers of the Cowboys Fringants gathered at Jeanne-Mance Park, the Plains of Abraham and other cities across the province, flags were lowered to half-mast in the evening in several locations, including Montreal and Quebec.
We even turned off the lights of the Olympic Stadium tower on Thursday evening to honor the memory of Karl Tremblay.
In a text message exchange with Le Journal, SuperFrancoFête organizer Sylvain Parent-Bédard promised that he would be honored when the event takes place in Quebec in 2024.
“We are devastated by this news,” wrote the summer festival team on social networks on Wednesday evening. Yesterday the FEQ, organizers of the memorable Cowboys Fringants concert which attracted 90,000 people to the Plains of Abraham, chose to decline media interview requests
Cowboys are alive and well
Even though the great Karl is no longer there, the work of the Cowboys Fringants will remain alive for a long time.
In addition to the album that the Cowboys managed to record before the death of their singer, their songs form the soundtrack of the musical Pub Royal, which will be performed next Wednesday at the Grand Théâtre de Québec. We will therefore hear some of the group’s big hits.
There were rumors that members of the Cowboys Fringants would attend the media premiere on November 23rd, but it is unclear if plans will change.
Out of respect for the privacy of the singer’s family, those responsible for the record company La Tribu did not grant an interview to the media.