Festival Musique du Bout du Monde: Laura Niquay, nature and her circle of life

UPGRADE DAY

The setting seemed like that of a postcard. With the sun clearly visible at the top of Mont Béchervaise, no rain on the horizon, few mosquitoes, all the conditions were in place for the public to listen to Attikamek artist Laura Niquay on Saturday at the occasion of the Festival Musique du Bout du Monde.

Come to present her most recent album, Waska Matisiwin, an album sung entirely in her mother tongue, the native musician de Wemotaci told us, before each song, the story behind each of them.

“This one is for my little brother, the time he had dark thoughts,” she said before Nicim. “This one is for my daughter Anaïs, my reason for living”, she mentioned before Nitanis Anaïs.

Even though the overwhelming majority of the crowd seemed unfamiliar with the meaning of the lyrics, it didn't matter because all of their attention was on the stage. It must be said that the rhythm imposed by Simon Bilodeau and the melody of guitarist Jérémie Essiambre carried the deep voice full of experience of the Attikamek singer.

Honorable mention also to the dynamic multi-instrumentalist Gotta Lago, who enhanced the energy of the crowd with his dynamism and contagious good humor. Throughout the show, he had made it his goal to make the crowd dance, and this was the case during the show's very last song, Waratanak, the only French song in the performance.

Tribute to nature

During the pandemic, the Festival organizers wanted to offer more shows in nature in order to allow more music lovers to attend the shows, without creating crowds. The summit of Mont Béchervaise was an ideal place for this kind of event and the formula was so appreciated in 2020 and 2021 that it was repeated this year.

Laura Niquay's repertoire s Moreover, it goes just as well with the picturesque decor. Mid-concert, she presented us with Aski, an ode to our land, which “we must take care of”, she shared. Then, towards the end of the show, she introduced us to Icpimik, which means the top.

“Before he died, my uncle had told me that when he died , he would like to become a fly, like that, he would always have easy access to the summit, ”she said.

A summit, where the spectators discovered on Saturday a new blow of musical heart.