A strange atmosphere permeated the lobby of Club Soda on Wednesday evening, where comedian Mike Beaudoin premiered his first solo show, “Vrai,” just hours after the death of Karl Tremblay was announced.
Although many refused to comment, some artists who met on the red carpet agreed to express their feelings about the death of the Cowboys Fringants singer.
“We have lost someone who played an important role in the history of Quebec music,” commented Benoit Gagnon, who heard the news on the radio.
“It is the national language that has just lost one of its great representatives,” he added.
Host Philo Lirette, still overcome with emotion, was also on air when he heard the news and was able to see hundreds of text messages from sad listeners.
“I saw Karl at least every three weeks for years. When I worked at Musique Plus our shows overlapped and I never spoke to him because I found him very intimidating because I was a big fan and I was embarrassed. Today I blame myself a little,” he admitted.
“It is very difficult to hear about the death of such an important monument live on the radio. “We remain human, we are in pain and we felt people’s pain, it was palpable… Especially Karl, who we followed, who we loved, who we let play,” said co-host Kim Rusk.
Jean Airoldi, who hesitated to comment, said he was sorry. “I like Quebec music. I really liked his music and to find out he died the same way at age 47… That hurts the most.”