Outdoor schedule of the 20th FrancoFolies

The mad virtue of the seven musical sins 

multicultural lust

The outdoor festival takes off July 24 with a multicultural concert that’s going to be lustful to say the least: Marco Calliari, the evening’s host, puts on a hot show with his friends, as part of an already spicy evening. His musical salsa features Ima la douce, winner of the Prix Félix-Leclerc, Paul Cargnello, Algerian Nedjim Bouizoul, smiling Yves Lambert, Algonquin rapper Samian and to add little spice, Tomas Jensen!

Michel Rivard's symphonic envy

Is it possible not to envy Michel Rivard, a FrancoFolies regular since its beginnings, who will be adding a dash of symphony to his best-loved songs on July 28? No, it’s not your regular pop-symphony, but rather bewitching new arrangements by Blair Thompson, making Michel Rivard the 62nd member of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal for a night!

Gregory Charles insatiable gluttony

Don’t worry about your eyes being bigger than your stomach, because not only can you see Grégory Charles perform the 100 top French-language songs of the last 50 years on stage indoors, but you can also catch the show’s highlights free on the large stage on Rue Sainte-Catherine on August 2. The father of the Mondial Choral Loto-Québec, who has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and performed in New York and Paris, is a unique phenomenon in Québec! Better get there early!

Les Petites Tounes family sloth

What would you say to taking it easy and handing the kids over to the loving care of the Petites Tounes, for a show created with them in mind? They’re back, Saturday, July 26, at 2:30 p.m., this time accompanied by friends such as Damien Robitaille, Mara Tremblay and even Tomas Jensen. An afternoon of top-notch free babysitting from the FrancoFolies, to the delight of kids and parents alike!

Jim Corcoran's pride and joy

Puff out your chest in pride, because for the past 20 years, English Canadians have delighted in francophone music, thanks to Jim Corcoran and his CBC radio show À Propos. This time around, Jim brings together a few of the best francophone artists on stage at Club Soda for a major free celebratory concert on July 24. À propos de nos 20 ans features Karkwa, Michel Rivard, Marie­-Jo Thério, Jérôme Minière, René Lussier, Marie­-Pierre Fournier, Geneviève Paris and Bernard Falaise.

The Wrath of Rock

Find out what’s all the rage as the next generation takes the stage, guitars a-wailing, playing the sounds of tomorrow on August 3 at 6 p.m. Four young groups will perform: the mind-blowing Alexandre Désilets; the theatrical group Gatineau with its mix of hip hop, rock and electro; Karkwa, in their first public appearance since the release of Le Volume du vent (which should manage to whip up a breeze!); lastly, a Québec group that is the toast of American festivals singing in French, Malajube, who will go wild!

Diane Dufresne greed for Mother Earth

Québec’s own diva, none other than Diane Dufresne, will take aim at the greed of our consumer society to raise awareness about the environment. Terre, planète bleue, will bring together Michel Rivard, Richard Séguin, Daniel Lavoie, Pierre Flynn, Michel Pagliaro and Elisapie Isaac to sing to the earth on August 3 at 9 p.m. Well known ecologists, including filmmaker and biologist Jean Lemire, as well as a video postcard from Hubert Reeves and images of the earth projected on surrounding buildings, will send a clear message: Ne tuons pas la beauté du monde… Let’s preserve the beauty of our world.