French singer Pomme returned to the Francos de Montréal for an eighth year. But on this Sunday evening of June 16, the Montreal public could see her at work during a free concert on the main stage of Place des Festivals. With her calm pieces that tackle subjects such as mental health, witches, death and even queer people, the French-but-almost-Quebec artist made festival-goers dance with the help of her fairy magic.
Claire Pommet, her real name, transformed the entertainment district into an enchanted forest where she was the fairy for an evening. Two huge luminous mushrooms on either side of the stage serve as decoration. Pomme moves around the stage by spinning around, wearing a fairy outfit with large wings falling down her back.
Originally from Lyon in France, Pomme has made Montreal its home. Many times during the concert she will refer to the city as her “second home”. Feeling at home, the artist took the liberty of inviting several of her Quebec friends including Safia Nolin, Klô Pelgag and Mélanie and Stéphanie Boulay.
The latter were the first to welcome Pomme with open arms when she arrived in Quebec for the first time. Today, the days of their collaboration are long gone, but a friendship and an admiration have remained, so it was with pleasure that the two artists joined Pomme on stage for the song Sun Sun, which focuses on seasonal depression, a highly Quebecois theme. This return to the stage for the two Gaspé sisters came less than two hours after opening the evening for their friend Claire Pommet with their own show on the main stage.
With Klô Pelgag, Pomme performs their piece Witch, which allows him to explain his fascination with magic. Later in the evening, she will ask the audience to participate during the choruses of Very Bad, a piece about toxic exes. According to the singer, if the entire audience at Place des Festivals participated, it would cast a spell to no longer find themselves in toxic relationships.
The main theme of the evening was sweetness. Upon arriving, Pomme explains that this concert will be a “collective consolation”, referring in passing to the title of his third album Consolation. The concert takes place in an extremely welcoming atmosphere, the main goal remaining to have a good time.
The singer often speaks of anxiety, sadness or even her fear of death. Despite the dark themes of the songs, the music of the songwriter, musician and performer is very soft and comforting. The different pieces performed seem to do good as much for Pomme, with a smile on her face and sparkling eyes, as for the audience. The singer’s passage was filled with sweetness, a kind of free collective therapy.
A real feeling of communion was present between the public and the artist. The spectators followed the singer’s requests with pleasure, such as reproducing her dance movements all together or singing the choruses in one voice. The singer seemed really touched and happy with all the love and goodwill from the spectators, who reigned in the entertainment district all evening.
Song grid
Nelly
Why does death scare you?
A million
Those who dream
Lesbian break-up song (with Safia Nolin and Ariel)
Witches (with Klô Pelgag)
Garden
Anxiety
Soleil soleil (with the Boulay Sisters)
The light
Streams
We will burn
Blue
Reminder
b.
Grandiose
Very bad
One minute
Musicians
Pauline Denize – violin, mandolin
Zoé Hochberg – drums, guitar
Michelle Blades – bass, guitar
Ollivier Corentin – keyboards, guitar
Bulk photos
