Zeds Dead on FEQ ’ s Bell Stage
music was also a part of it since day one .”
Because of the vast number of genres and artists represented , it ’ s a festival that facilitates discovery for its audience – programming artists that are both well known and , if not obscure , from such dramatically different traditions that festivalgoers can ’ t help but see and hear something they have never heard of before . A beneficial side product of that is that much of that attention goes towards Canadian talent and , more specifically , that from la Belle Province . In fact , each year , a well-known Quebecois act is given the chance to develop a show that will take the Bell Stage during the week and , in most cases , put that artist in front of their largest headlining audience ever . Previously , those artists have included the likes of Jean-Pierre Ferland and Patrick Watson and this year will include Coeur de Pirate and Fred Pellerin .
In the 1980s and ‘ 90s , the festival increasingly began to hire international headliners as a way of staying relevant and promoting growth , a tactic that ’ s only increased their attendance over time .
That said , Bellavance says there ’ s a balance that must be struck between offering high-value A-list artists and developing the festival ’ s brand . As an example , he mentions “ the Metallica year ,” when people , he felt , perhaps identified more with the headliners than the festival itself . Ultimately , he wants to make sure people see the festival as a whole and invest themselves in the event , not a single headline act . “ That was my goal ,” he explains . “ So we invested in talent , booking it not around one or two names , but trying to build something very strong and cover more ground musically .”
In addition , it ’ s been important to be increasingly active in terms of sponsorship , aligning with partners to create a singular and unique experience . Bell has been a long-term sponsor , he says , and their involvement continues to grow . As the festival ’ s brand has become better known , sponsors like Molson , Sirius XM , and others have come to the table , seeing both an opportunity to be part of the event ’ s growth and to create unique content tagged to FEQ .
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“ It ’ s not about getting a logo and a banner placed prominently on stage anymore ,” he says . Essentially , sponsors are looking to provide experiences for people – experiences that are beneficial for the festival , its audience , regional tourism overall , and the sponsors themselves .
Unlike many other events , FEQ ’ s ticketing model is aimed at providing artists who perform with the chance to play to the largest crowd possible by offering relatively inexpensive , transferable wristbands to patrons . This year , that means an all-inclusive pass for $ 90 CDN . Yes , less than $ 100 for 11 days of entertainment featuring everyone from Brad Paisley to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Duran Duran to Kaskade .
That ’ s a win-win situation for artists and audiences . “ If you had to pin down one thing as to why the festival is what it is now , I always say that we ’ re selling a lot of wristbands because we ’ re selling them cheap and we are letting people share them . If you ’ re selling wristbands for 300 bucks , you know there ’ s only so many you can sell and you sure don ’ t want people to share them .”
Try getting a ticket for a Rolling Stones show – a recent Bell Stage headliner – anywhere for $ 90 . Very unlikely . But at FEQ 2015 , at that price , you could see the Stones and hundreds of other artists if you ’ d like .
The impact of that model , beyond offering
Louis Bellavance
Photo : Renaud Philippe concertgoers a good deal , is that the main stage is routinely packed . Look at it this way – Lady Gaga is the headliner . Maybe you ’ re not into her music , but a friend of yours is . You give them your wristband for the night , they take a friend who has a wristband as well , and the next night , you go see Metallica or , you know , whoever is playing . The artists on stage are practically guaranteed a larger audience than they would have with a more traditional one ticket / one human model , which is actually quite attractive from their perspective as well .
Part of the success of the festival is owed to the fact that Quebec City is not a major market where huge acts routinely stop on tour . Nor are there a number of large , genre-specific festivals on offer nearby . The result is a truly unique experience for audiences and artists alike .
As a side note , the province of Quebec , in and of itself , is an incredibly lucrative market and one that has been known for embracing artists ahead of the rest of North America . That has included the first tastes of Canadian success for everyone from Supertramp and Genesis to the Backstreet Boys in the mid- ‘ 90s . ( Didn ’ t think you ’ d see those bands in the same sentence , did you ?)
Although the days of huge domestic record sales are pretty much behind us , to put this in perspective , Quebecois artist Kevin Parent , for example , sold in excess of 300,000 records in Quebec alone back in the day . It ’ s a massive market , and one that can make or break careers .
Center of Gravity ( CoG ) is itself a unique festival in terms of its musical offerings and its reliance on sports as a draw for audiences . Now in its ninth year , the sports and music festival returns to Kelowna in early July , but will also create a new iteration of “ the nation ’ s hottest beach party ” on the shores of Georgian Bay in August for the first time .
It ’ s a major expansion , says Ben Brown Bentley , event producer at Wet Ape Productions and director of finance and marketing for CoG . Established in 2007 with the mandate of developing unique sporting , music , and