The New Brunswick-based artists return to Louisiana this month to play at Festival International de Louisiane. The region, although separated by thousands of miles and hundreds of years of cultural history, still feels like home.
in 2018, Lisa LeBlanc played at Festival International de Louisiane. Photo courtesy of David Simpson
By Jonathan Olivier
Acadian musician Lisa LeBlanc first visited Louisiana in 2015 to play at Festival International de Louisiane, one of the state’s biggest music festivals. Later that year, she returned for Blackpot Festival where she camped out for a week at Blackpot Camp in Eunice with other musicians from Louisiana and afar.
Louisiana’s music, food, culture and regional French dialect left an indelible mark on the award-winning musician from New Brunswick, so much so that the Bayou State has become a place of inspiration.
“I love Lafayette and it makes me think of Moncton [New Brunswick],” LeBlanc said. “From the first moment that I arrived in Louisiana, it was like I was back at home due to the similarities and the music. There are a lot of similarities between us, the Acadians of the north, and the Acadians of the south.”
LeBlanc is returning to Louisiana this month to play at Festival International de Louisiane for the fifth time. While past appearances have featured her self-described “trash rock” folksy sound, this year she’ll also play songs from her latest album “Chiac Disco” that she released in 2022. Her new music is devoid of banjo and more reminiscent of funk genres from the ‘60s or ‘70s.
LeBlanc returns to Festival International this year, taking the stage Friday and Saturday night. Photo courtesy of David Simpson
“Honestly, I’m really flabbergasted by the reaction to this album,” she said. “We didn’t really know what would come of it. Because, honestly, this kind of album kind of came out of nowhere. It’s super different from what I’ve done in the past.”
Although LeBlanc’s sound has shifted with Chiac Disco, the album’s vibe is not much of a departure from past hits like “Aujourd’hui ma vie c’est d’la marde”—LeBlanc’s new music still showcases her voice’s unique tone, as well as her vibrant personality. Chiac Disco has been a hit with fans across the francophone world, bringing her to Europe to tour several times since the album’s release.
“All of a sudden, I’m finding myself with such a magnificent reception,” she said. “I couldn’t be happier with everything. We are really lucky.”
The Acadian group Les Hay Babies, composed of Vivianne Roy, Julie Aubé and Katrine Noël, also from New Brunswick, will return to Festival International this year for the second time. Like LeBlanc, during the group’s previous trips to the state, it was easy to find similarities between their culture and Louisiana.
“I find that in Louisiana, there are so many familiarities,” Roy said. “It’s as if we could enter a totally parallel world.”
Noël added: “We say all the time that our friends we make who are from Lafayette, it’s like, ‘This is the Louisiana version of someone from back home.’ It’s like everyone has a Louisianan or Acadian counterpart.”
Les Hay Babies return to Festival International de Louisiane this year for the second time. Photo courtesy of Marc-Étienne Mongrain
The group rented a space for a week in Henry, near Erath, Louisiana, in order to record their next album, using the region as inspiration. The trio, which normally plays rock, has no plans for what this new record will sound like—they’re waiting on motivation from Louisiana’s countryside and plan to cut a few songs with local musicians.
“If there are any people who want to come talk to us in French after our show, if anyone sees us at the festival, or if anyone wants to tell us some stories, we’ll take any inspiration that we can have for our album,” Noël said.
Festival International de Louisiane kicks off on April 26, ending on April 30. The event is free and sprawls across downtown Lafayette. Lisa LeBlanc will play on April 28 at 8:30 p.m. at the Scène Laborde Earles Fais Do Do, and on April 29 at 6 p.m. at the Scène LUS Internationale. Les Hay Babies will play on April 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Scène Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and on April 30 at 3:30 p.m. at the Scène Laborde Earles Fais Do Do.
For more information on Festival International de Louisiane, find the full line up here.