Opening concert: Vishtèn
For the past decade, Acadian powerhouse trio Vishtèn have acted as Francophone musical ambassadors throughout the world. This Canadian trio continue to dazzle audiences with their fiery blend of traditional French songs and original instrumentals, fusing Celtic and Acadian genres with a modern sensibility and rock influence.
Hailing from Prince Edward Island’s Evangeline area and from the most remote reaches of Quebec, the windswept Magdalen Islands, twin sisters Emmanuelle and Pastelle LeBlanc join musical forces with Pascal Miousse to form a sophisticated sonic signature. Their tight sibling harmonies, layered foot percussion, virtuoso acoustic and electric instrumentation create an expansive sound that would be difficult to reproduce, in sheer complexity, by a quintet – let alone a trio. Vishtèn’s trademark blend of fiddle, guitar, accordion, harmonium, whistles, piano, bodhrán, jaw harp, moog, electric guitar and percussive dance make for a unique tour de force of the traditional and contemporary.
After touring extensively on three continents, the name Vishtèn is now synonymous with Acadian music worldwide. In addition to releasing five albums and performing at thousands of international festivals – from the Vancouver Olympics to France’s Interceltique de Lorient – their music has been showcased on American television (ESPN) and the Japanese film, Finding Anne.
“Instrumentally this is a class act. Vishtèn have all the bounce and bravado of Quebec music, plus the soulful melodies of the Acadian tradition.”
--The Living Tradition
“It’s like Buckwheat Zydeco meets the Irish. The first time I saw them, I loved them!”
--Pittsburgh Irish Festival