International Regional and Local Music Scenes
Local Quebec City, Canada Music Scene
The local music scene of Quebec is somewhat isolated from the rest the Canada, but since
it's one of the nation's biggest cities, it's also one of the top music markets. The city is on
the Saint Lawrence River, giving it a unique geographic profile. As one of the oldest European
settlements in North America, it has a lot of history with French heritage. Some of the top
celebrations in the city include the Winter Carnival, and the Summer Music Festival. Well known
local artists include Steve Barakatt, Fred Everything, Jacynthe Millette-Bilodeau and Armando Santiago.
World On Edge was a fairly well known Quebec band in the early nineties.
The most common reason why bands break up in their early stages without ever playing a show has to do
with scheduling. It is very difficult to get people to commit to a regular practice schedule, especially
for members who are raising families or are going through school. All it takes is one missing player at a
practice to begin to slow down band development. If the band only meets once per week, it can hinder
progress. While a band doing originals can get away with sounding however they want, cover bands are held
to a higher standard on a local level, while original bands are held to a higher standard on a national level.
Once a Quebec band has learned and memorized about a half hour set of material, they are potentially ready to play
shows at least as an opening act. There are ways to stretch out sets if the audience demands more, such as
playing longer versions of songs by repeating sections or by jamming on familiar chord progressions.
Gigs usually start with friends opening for friends or knowing the owner of a venue. Some of the top
band venues in Quebec City history include the Grand Theatre de Quebec, Le Capitole de Quebec, Maison de la Chanson
and Temps Partiel.
Attracting a following in Quebec City can be done by playing frequently in public, which can involve a lot of free shows
and playing at festivals. As the band becomes more serious about shows, they will greatly benefit by
developing a marketing list of fans and their contact information. This list is most useful for contacting
fans through email about upcoming shows. Once a band has scheduled a list of shows, they need to consider
building a website simply for the sake of reference so that fans can always access them.
A website is the most important hub for an established band. It's the place where they can showcase their
talent and sell CDs, downloads and merchandise. It's still possible for a band to exist without a website
and make money, but if the band's making money why not have a website? It really doesn't have to be an
expensive website, it just needs to be a reference point where people can learn more and be reminded of
things like who the band members are and the names of their albums and songs.
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