Maybe if their band was called Lac de Ragoût, they could play in a celebration marking the St. Jean Baptiste Day celebrations.
But Lake of Stew, a local country/bluegrass band, and Bloodshot Bill, a country music performer, both say they have been barred from performing June 23 in the festival called l'Autre St. Jean (the other St. Jean) because they are English.
A sponsor of the event was upset the event would include English artists and threatened to pull out funding if they performed.
In an email from festival organizers, the performers were told a sponsor, whom they would not name, fears the daily use of the French language is threatened, and having an English band at a St. Jean Baptiste-related event would be a further threat.
The organizers also said they were worried there would be violence and they couldn't guarantee the safety of event participants.
Reports say the Association culturelle Louis Hébert, which has close ties to the nationalist Société St. Jean Baptiste, was the sponsor in question.
After playing at the end of a weekend street festival on Mount Royal Ave. yesterday, Lake of Stew band members said they were upset, but blamed the sponsor, saying event organizers felt their hands were tied.
"Nothing in our daily experience would lead us to believe there would be a riot if an English band played at a party in the spirit of good vibes," said Richard Rigby, 42, the group's front man, who was born in Châteauguay and has lived all his life in and around Montreal.
"We're really disappointed that we wouldn't be able to play, and the reason is such a ridiculous reason."
The June 23 event, to be held in Pelican Park in Rosemont, is billed as an alternative to the big St. Jean Baptiste Day bash the next day at Maisonneuve Park. Its intention is to promote home-grown bands.
Other performers to appear at the Rosemont concert include Malajube, Vincent Vallières, Les Dales Hawerchuk and Marie-Pierre Arthur.
"The reason they set up this event was for it to be different, so why are people freaking out because it's different?" Bloodshot Bill said.
The English bands appear to have a lot of support. Yesterday, a group called Pour les artistes anglophones à l'Autre St. Jean created a site on the Facebook social networking site to lobby for the groups to be allowed to perform. An online petition was also started.
The email from event organizers said there would be a follow-up email the next day to confirm the cancellations, but none of the performers has heard back. The band and Bloodshot Bill say they assume they won't be performing, however.
C4 Productions, the event organizers, did not reply to phone calls and emails from The Gazette yesterday.
Bloodshot Bill, who was born and raised in Montreal, said he was excited to play at his first St. Jean Baptiste holiday concert.
"I was going to go up there with Lake of Stew and we were going to play some songs in French," he said.
While he performs mostly in English, he says he's comfortable in front of a French-speaking crowd.
"I go to lots of small towns in the province. I speak French to the crowd, then the songs are English."
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay said yesterday the event should be inclusive. The Rosemont-Petite Patrie borough is one of its sponsors.
The city charter's first article says Montreal is a French-speaking city, he noted, adding: "We want to be inclusive. I just hope everyone works for a common cause and we celebrate the 24th of June, which is a celebration of Quebec, and that's it."
Gourmet Délice, vice-president of the management agency Bonsound, whose clients include Malajube and Marie-Pierre Arthur, said he thought Quebec had evolved past the point where English bands would be banned from such a celebration.
"It's completely ridiculous," he said. "This is not an event exclusively for francophones. It's for all Quebecers."
Source : The Gazette
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