CTV News Montreal

Updated: Mon Jun. 15 2009 7:18:33 PM

ctvmontreal.ca

Two English bands that believed they had been kicked off the bill of a Saint Jean Baptiste celebration were never actually banned, according to the company producing the show.

"A final decision hasn't been made," regarding whether or not Lake of Stew and Blooshot Bill will play at L'Autre St. Jean, said Martine Groulx, a Web promo agent with C4, the production company behind the event.

"We maintain our choices for the line up of the event with Malajube, Vincent Vallires, Les Dales Hawerchuk, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Lake of Stew et Bloodshot Bilwhich [sic] represents forty minutes of Anglophone music on a six hour show," read the press release from C4, issued on Monday afternoon.

Their declaration is in contrast with a statement from Mario Beaulieu, president of the Society Saint Jean Baptiste. He told CTV Montreal on Sunday that the English acts had been removed from the event.

The festival's website and radio promotions running on CISM still include the two English acts.

Controversy

On Thursday the band Lake of Stew received an email from C4 telling them a sponsor was unhappy with the English acts on the bill, said Richard Rigby who plays mandolin and banjo with the bluegrass band. The sponsor threatened to pull funding from the event, and also said they were not sure about the safety of the event if the English acts were allowed to play.

Rigby said the email the band recieved did not say the band's performance had been cancelled, but Rigby said the wording made him think it was "a done deal."

Rigby said other journalists had contacted him to let him know they had confirmed that the band was off the bill.

Mystery sponsor

The sponsor with the objections to the English acts turned out to be the Association Culturel Louis Hebert, which was one of the organizers of the event, and which has a connection to the Societe Saint Jean Baptiste. The Association's website is registered to the same address as the headquarters of the SSJB.

On Sunday, Mario Beaulieu, President of the SSJB, told CTV Montreal that C4 and The Association Culturel Louis Hebert had met and agreed to cancel the English acts.

However, Groulx says the two groups made no such agreement. She says the only person C4 has been dealing with is Marie Helene Lacombe, the president of the Association Culturel Louis Hebert

According to Groulx, Lacombe told C4 that only one person on the board of the Assocation had a problem with the English acts.

To play or not to play?

As of now, the band believes they are scheduled to play although they have not been personally contacted by the producer of the show.

Rigby said the band has called and emailed Pierre Thibault, their contact at C4, but he has not responded to emails or phone calls.

The original email indicated that they would be paid whether or not they perform.

If they are scheduled to play, they will play, said Rigby.

But, he added, "right now I'm really exhausted and I'm just about tired of it." He said he has been "answering phone calls from all across Canada" about the story.

A press release from C4 says they will make an announcement on Wednesday.

Please Add Comments(6)

Gail
It's call "la fête Nationale" so why would you stop somebody from preforming just because they are singing in english. It's not "la fête francais" It shouldn't matter what language that you sing. I thought that we where passed acting like children and being discriminating against language but I guess not. I'm very disappointed in my fellow Quebecer. Such a shame really.

martine tiramani
la societe de la st jean baptiste is very ignorant for refusing these english bands to perform.the feast is for all quebecers not just french speaking separtists.now imagine if canada day was celebrated just in english. they would be the first to claim canada is bilingual.

koko
the French Quebecers are destroying the beautiful province, not even tourists enjoy coming to Montreal anymore, because the French are so rued, and all the street signs are in French.

denise chatelier, Montreal
If people who speak other languages than French elect to make the Province of Quebec their home, they should be allowed to participate in the ST"Jean-Baptiste festivities. To exclude them because they are not francophones is outrageous and narrow-minded.

Jimi Betts
Just another example of pure ignorance in the guise of nationalistic pride. It wont stop until every anglophone has left the province.

Norman Clark
So sad....it seems that the many French Quebecers are really stuck in the 1560,s, because they lost the French_English war. The world is a very big place and people simple do not want to be bothered with many of some French outdated thinking. At the end the French people[who are against the English] only hurt themselves...Norman Clark