Preview: Top 5 Must-See Bands at Le Festival d’été de Québec 2014!

By: Curtis Sindrey (@SindreyCurtis) –

Festival d’été in Québec City returns for their 47th edition this summer, with over 1,000 artists, 300 shows, and 10 stunning venues, including Billy Joel, Lady Gaga, The Killers, and Bryan Adams, amidst the beautiful landscapes of downtown Quebec City.

It’s easy to get swept up in the mega-superstardom of this year’s headliners, but for the more adventurous souls we’ve compiled a list of emerging artists who deliver passionate performances full of heart, including Toronto’s July Talk, Montreal’s Suuns and Thus Owls, and more below.

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July Talk
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Formed in 2012, Toronto indie rockers July Talk are blazing the local music circuit, building a reputation for a firey energetic live show The explosively intimate chemistry between singer/guitarist Peter Dreimanis and singer Leah Fayen livens their dynamic debut album, and with a new LP on the way, now is the time to get hooked on the July Talk drug.

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Suuns
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For Montreal-based indie rockers Suuns, the 2013 LP Images Du Futur represented an evolution. Frontman Ben Shemie’s focused in on his songwriting abilities as the ensemble zoned in on creating distinctly polished tracks, while burying the purely instrumental approach that is evident on earlier releases, namely their acclaimed debut LP Zeroes QC. A short but propulsive set full of unhinged intensity characterizes a typical Suuns performance. Expect no less when they perform at Festival d’été in Québec.

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BadBadNotGood
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BadBadNotGood are a rising act that gained prominence through collaborations with Tyler, The Creator and Frank Ocean. The Toronto-based trio blend instrumental hip-hop with electronica and jazz, after meeting in 2010 at Humber College, and finding common love for rhythm and hip-hop, including A Tribe Called Quest, Odd Future, and Waka Flocka Flame. On their third album, III, also their first album to feature original songs, was released on May 6^th and if you’re a fan of underground hip-hop driven by bebop jazz, fit these guys into your schedule.

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Thus Owls
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Montreal/Stokholm-based husband-&-wife duo Thus Owls broke through with their 2009 debut album, Cardiac Malformations. The jazzy, experimental LP indulged in deep musical landscapes mixed with a diverse bag of offerings to win over fans. The childhood home of co-lead singer Erika Angell, a modest house in a small village on Orust – an island in Sweden that only 1,800 people call home, inspired their new album Turning Rocks. If you’re into the ethereal sounds of Portishead, or the darker sonic qualities of The Knife,  check out Thus Owls this summer!

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Brody Dalle
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From the unrelenting punk rock days of The Distillers and the indie rock of Spinnerette, Brody Dalle has infused elements of her distinct flavour of alt rock into her debut solo album Diploid Love. Present in her new material, Dalle’s rawness evokes a riotous attitude that drives a distinct wedge from her past musical groups while also showing a Dalle shows a rare intimacy side on the sweetly sung odes dedicated to her newborn son, “Oh The Joy” and “Meetthe Foetus”. Dallekeeps herself entrenched with her contemporaries through collaborations with Shirley Manson (of Garbage), Nick Valensi (of The Strokes), Michael Shuman (of Queens of the Stone Age), and Emily Kokal (of Warpaint).