BY KAREN BOSSICK
Their name translates to “good riddance.”
But chances are you’ll wish Bon Debarras could play forever when this trio from Quebec brings its traditional French Canadian songs mixed with contemporary sounds from around the world to Sun Valley.
They will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum.
But, before they do that, they will take part in a Winter Warm-up Veillee, an evening gathering with mulled wine and cider, Quebec-inspired desserts, and music, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts’ Hailey house.
The Veillee recreates a traditional Quebecois veillee which features folk music passed down from French, Scottish and Irish immigrants and is often performed in the kitchen. It dovetails with the Center’s current Big Idea project “At the Table: Kitchen as Home.”
.Admission to the Veillee is $10 per person, although those who bring a homemade dessert to share will get in free. To register, contact Kristine Bretall at kbretall@sunvalleycenter.org.
But there’s more.
Bon DeBarras will also perform before every elementary school student in the Wood River Valley, thanks to the generous support of Bex Wilkinson and the Marshall Frankel Foundation, with support from Lloyd Construction, Neil Zussman and Cathy Whinnery.
The group will perform a lecture-demonstration of their music and teach the kids about rhythms, body percussion and the culture and music of Quebec during multiple appearances Wednesday through Friday.
The trio is made up of Montreal artists Dominic Desrochers, Jean-Francois Dumas and Marie-Pierre Lecault. They create an original fusion of Quebecois folk music, traditional step dancing and more via guitar, banjo, violin and harmonica.
“When I think of the music of Quebec, it puts a smile on my face because it’s just plain fun, and Bon Debarras brings that—and a lot more,” said Bretall, director of Performing Arts at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.
Ticket start at $15 for students 18 and under and $30 for Center members and are available online at www.sunvalleycenter.org, by phone at 208-726-9491 or in person at The Center’s box office at 191 Fifth Street East in Ketchum.
COMING UP:
The American folk-rock band The Sweet Remains will perform on Wednesday, Feb. 6.