Lasso Festival | Jelly Roll, preacher of a record edition

Cowboy hats, jeans clothes and leather boots were in the spotlight for a second day in a row. Jelly Roll, as a good celebration master, almost as a preacher, projected her soul and delivered her redemption message on Jean-Drapeau Park on Saturday in Montreal.

There are moments that perfectly summarize a person: after having seen a poster saying that a spectator, present with his daughter, was sober for almost 1400 days, Jelly Roll dedicated a song on sobriety. Guaranteed emotion, possible tears.

With force and passion, the American tattooed to the face took the crowd where he wanted. A former drug addict and prisoner, the late-bloomer Country gave himself the role of a pastor – learning of his own mistakes to guide others.

This is what has made its trademark, and has propelled it to the top of the American country for three years.

The voice of Jelly Roll, forged by a soul Who can only result from a rough past, had something to give chills. If the redemption could be personified, then it is its form that it would take.

The former rapper also proposed well -known titles, in cover : Take Me Home, Country Roads John Denver, Sweet Home Alabama de Lynyrd Skynyrd ou How You Remind Me of Nickelback, to name only these.

His show, which featured a dozen musicians, was designed for celebration, party, and enhancement – even if you are not believer or religious – of a practically spiritual choir.

Those who played

Before Jelly Roll, it was a second take in Lasso for Riley Green. With a calm presence, the 36 -year -old American served an hour of pure country, assuming not to mix with other styles as many do today.

Alabama’s native, Green has everything of a cowboy: a southern voice, which embarks you in roadtrip If it is sung, and which lets you question half of the sentence if it is spoken. A beard of a few days, which emphasizes a large mustache. Acoustic guitar. And, of course, the jeans and cargo shirt duo well cut.

Dasha, who went up on the boards earlier during the day, came back to accompany him, marking points on the ballad You Look Like You Love Me.

Tucker Wetmore, singer-songwriter from the state of Washington, offered a beautiful moment of music to spectators, Saturday in the early evening. A self -taught piano player, the American swapped his country repertoire for a moment to sing a piece of Bohemian Rapsodyone of the most influential musical pieces of all time.

At the end of his performance, “Montrey’All baseball” jersey on the back and cupboards with strong alcohol in the thematic background, Wetmore showed a visible recognition to the public, squatting and tapping his head as if to induce the love of the love.

We must also lift our hat to Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project. Local artists usually play in the afternoon, or on secondary scenes. Defying this standard by performing from 4:50 p.m. to 6:05 p.m. on the main scene, the group formed in 2006 received substantial cheers, and the crowd followed its words.

The quartet had fun drinking beers poured in boots, the famous ” shooey », To conclude his number, to the delight of amateurs on site.

Record year

With 24,000 festival -goers on Friday, then 27,500 Saturday, the fourth edition of the Lasso festival recovers at the same time the record title. The total of 51,500 tickets sold exceeds that of the 2023 edition, which featured Kane Brown and Chris Stapleton.

When we sat with Nick Farkas, main vice-president, programming, concerts and events at Evenko, Saturday to take stock, he had only positive to share.

“We had a craze that we rarely see. I have rarely had so many positive comments from artists, managers, fans. And it is an impressive production built for another festival [Osheaga]that we are lucky to be able to offer country fans. It is the top level of the industry, ”he prides himself in an interview.

Of the three festivals organized by Evenko, Lasso is the one whose demography is both the most local and the most varied in terms of age.

The 25 to 49 year olds are the majority group, while Osheaga and Îlesoniq receive more from twenty -year -old and thirty -something. Then, 80 % of customers are Quebec, compared to 20 % of the outside. From this percentage, about half comes from the Metropolitan region of Montreal (RMM), and the other half of the regions.

In Nashville, the word happens. Many members of the industry were in the Metropolis for Lasso, and that by their testimony, the reputation of Montreal as “City of Country” begins to set up to Music City.

We asked him, to conclude, the question that all amateurs have on the lips: among the big names in the country, you miss you to present Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, right? Will we see them soon in Montreal?

Answer: It is not for lack of will that they have not yet been the headliner. Wallen had even agreed to play twice, two opportunities that were canceled with the pandemic. Then his career took off to the moon, and it is now very expensive.

“I hope that we will be able to have these artists,” says Nick Farkas. Maybe not next year, but we will find a solution. These are essentials and they will come. »»