Strong evening for the 33rd SOCAN Gala: after a year of absence, approximately 100 trophies were awarded on Sunday, during an evening held at TOHU. Ginette Reno, Plume Latraverse, Jean-Pierre Ferland and Paul Piché were among the artists honored for their career, during the ceremony hosted by the drag queen Barbada.
SOCAN is not your average gala: the winners know they will receive a hug when they show up. This year, the Copyright Management Society highlighted the exceptional trajectories of four outstanding figures of Quebec song: Ginette Reno received the Prix Hommage, Plume Latraverse, the Prix Excellence, Paul Piché was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Canadians and Jean-Pierre Ferland received the cultural footprint award for his song Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin.
The presentation of this distinction was highlighted at the opening of the gala, when Jeanick Fournier, winner of Canada’s Got Talent, interpreted this song, so emblematic of Ginette Reno, who carried it in 1975 on Mount Royal. Saying he was “proud” and “sincerely touched” to have been chosen, Jean-Pierre Ferland offered a pre-recorded thank you note. “I wish I was there with you, but you know, a man my age goes to bed early,” he added.
The next moment, the assistance was entitled to a large-scale number. The host of the evening, the drag queen Barbada, made an entrance worthy of an international pop star: she came down from the ceiling to the sound of a medley mixing in particular Where are the women, by Patrick Juvet, then Take me by Marie-Mai and Etc. by Gabrielle Destromaisons. She led the evening smoothly, daring a few salacious jokes, but above all full of liveliness.
It is impossible to list the dozens of awards given out during the evening, covering all musical genres – from country to indigenous music, electronica and screen music. Of the lot, let us nevertheless underline the one given to Banx
In this shower of prizes, tributes occupied the qualitative part of the evening. Julie Snyder was eloquent in her introduction to Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Paul Piché, noting his social sensibility and his sense of “we”. As if to prove him right, he accepted the honor given to him by insisting on the fact that there are dozens of people working in the shadows. “We don’t do this alone,” he insisted, referring to writers, composers, musicians, stage technicians, office workers and everyone else. It’s huge the number of people who work so that we can be on stage in front of the public. »
On stage after a musical tribute by Catherine Durand, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Mara Tremblay and Martin Deschamps, Plume Latraverse received its Excellence Award with sincerity and, of course, a crooked smile. “Excellence Award, I’m not sure. I would say in my case price perseverance. As the CAQ peregrine falcon would probably say: for toughing the runne for so long with my old crooked songs, he said.
Later in the evening, it was Ginette Reno’s turn to be celebrated. SOCAN presented him with its Tribute Award. “She sang love with all her guts, she sang all her life for others,” said Sister Angèle, her friend, who had taken the trouble to make sugar cream with the recipe of the mother of the singer, inviting her to savor them like bites of love. “I’ve been singing for 64 years. I always sing like it’s the first time. The older I get, the more it feels like I’m singing for the last time,” she said, as if to say she was going to continue to do so with the same passion.
The SOCAN Gala is a time for Canadian songwriters and composers to celebrate their careers and successes, especially the most enduring ones. Each year, songs that have aired 25,000 times on the radio become SOCAN classics. This year: Toune d’automne by Les Cowboys Fringants, La désise by Daniel Boucher, Point de mire by Ariane Moffatt, Because we come from far away by Corneille, Dreaming better by Daniel Bélanger, Balade à Toronto by Jean Leloup, Amalgame des Respectable and We talk about you from Noir Silence.
