LEWISTON – Franco-American singer/songwriter Josée Vachon will bring her warm engaging humor and upbeat rhythms to the Ramada Conference Center Sunday, May 4, courtesy of La Survivance Francaise.
The concert will begin at 12:30 p.m., following a meal served family-style.
Tickets are $15 and must be purchased no later than Wednesday, April 30, by calling Aliette Couturier, president of La Survivance Francaise, at 784-1434.
Well-known in communities throughout the Northeast, Vachon has been making a name for herself for more than 25 years. A Québec native transplanted to central Maine as a child, her traditional and original songs in French are played with guitar, spoons, clogging, energy and charm. She has performed hundreds of traditional, educational and holiday concerts for audiences of all ages.
Vachon’s first performances at the University of Maine and at New England Franco-American festivals inspired her to document her Québec roots in original songs as well as in traditional songs from Canada.
Her warm vocals, welcoming personality and increasing popularity among Francos led to an 11-year run hosting “Bonjour!,” a popular French language cable TV show produced in the United States, airing in markets from New Brunswick, Ontario, to Louisiana.
Vachon has appeared on Parisian television shows as well as on TV Ontario and Radio-Canada. She was recorded for a documentary on La Bolduc on Canada’s History Channel, has a regional music clip on MicroSoft’s AutoMap Trip Planner software and made Yankee Magazine’s Top 40 Music picks in July 2001.
She also contributed an original song to Smithsonian Folkways’ CD, “Mademoiselle voulez-vous danser: Franco-American Music from the New England Borderlands,” a Top Ten Folk Music CD pick from NPR in 1999.
She was a member of the Women’s Singing Traditions of New England Tour and in 1993 co-founded the Franco-American folk group Chanterelle with award-winning fiddler Donna Hébert and singer/guitarist Liza Constable, often joined by bass and Cajun accordion player Alan Bradbury. The group released two CDs, “French in America” (1994) and “Soirée Chez Nous” (1996).
Vachon has 12 solo recordings to her credit and continues to perform and record the music that best represents her love of Franco-American culture.
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