Le Vent du Nord

The award winning and highly acclaimed Le Vent du Nord is a leading force in Québec’s progressive francophone folk movement. The group’s vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions, while enhancing its hard-driving soulful music with a broad range of global influences. They absolutely awed the crowd when they came to WemsFest in July 2022 - it was a sound so many of us had never heard before!  Completely infectious and compelling.

Since its inception in August 2002, Le Vent du Nord has enjoyed meteoric success, performing well over 1,800 concerts over 5 continents and racking up several prestigious awards, including a Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros, two Junos (Canada’s Grammys), a Félix at ADISQ, a Canadian Folk Music Award, and “Artist of the Year” at the North American Folk Alliance Annual Gala. In 2023 they were honoured to be named the first French-speaking recipient of the UK Songlines Award in the Americas category.

The group exhibits great finesse and flexibility, appearing regularly on Canadian, American, French, and UK television and radio, and participating in a wide variety of special musical projects. They’ve collaborated and performed with a diverse range of artists including: Harry Manx, Väsen, Dervish, The Chieftains, Breton musical pioneer Yann-Fañch Kemener, Québécois roots legend and master storyteller Michel Faubert, the Scottish folk band Breabach, and singer Julie Fowlis. Not content with standard approaches to tradition, Le Vent du Nord has also created a symphonic concert that, according to Voir Montreal, “puts all traditional folk naysayers to shame.”

As an amazing live performance quintet Le Vent du Nord continues to explore new sounds with stunning vocal arrangements. On stage these 5 friends creating intense, joyful and dynamic live performances that expand the bounds of tradition in striking directions.

Le Vent du Nord are:

André Gagné – vocals, bouzouki, guitar

Nicolas Boulerice – vocals, electro acoustic hurdy-gurdy, piano

Réjean Brunet – basses, diatonic accordion, jaw harp, piano, vocals

Olivier Demers – fiddle, guitar, foot-tapping, mandolin, vocals

André Brunet – fiddle, foot-tapping, vocals