Quebec Country & Western

I have a soft spot for Annie Blanchard. I love the purity of her voice and the touch of "country & western" in his music.

Here is the her doing a cover for Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make it Through the Night":



And I love her rendition of Longfellow's poem "Evangeline" which recounts the epic story of the ethnic cleansing of the French colonists from Acadia by the British in the 1750s. It is a heart-breaking story and her singing does it full justice with the drama and sorrow in her voice:



Here is a song, Sur l'autre rive, from her latest album which has a wonderful "country & western" feel to it:



And here's one, Marcher vers le nord, with a wonderful video in which she collaborates with Laurence Jalbert:



I find it amazing how rich and wonderful the world of culture is outside the narrow confines of "popular culture" as defined by the big media interests and their stable of "stars".

Here is Annie Blanchar's web site. This text nicely summarizes her music:

La chanteuse s’est inspirée de son expérience de vie de tournée, avec tout ce que cela suppose de difficultés liées à la solitude et à l’éloignement.

Sur un rythme up tempo qui n’est pas sans rappeler la chanteuse Sheryl Crow à qui elle voue un immense respect, Annie Blanchard reste fidèle à ses racines, à sa culture, à cette couleur country qui lui sied si bien.