Evenko, an independently owned company that produces and promotes shows in Quebec. Evenko organizes more than 1,200 musical, family and sporting events every year in Quebec, hosting the biggest entertainers in the world and investing in the promotion of Quebec artists. Some of the festivals include Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, Heavy Montreal, Îlesoniq, '77 Montréal, all held in Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, the Festival YUL EAT, held in the Old Port of Montreal, and Electro Parade Montréal. With everything happening around the world the music and entertainment industry was hit the hardest. As 2021 summer was coming to an end the team at Evenko surprised their followers with a revived festival ‘Îlesoniq Redux’. We got a chance to sit down with Evelyne Côté from Evenko to talk about the curating process of this year's Îlesoniq lineup as well a little bit about her journey within Evenko.
THE INTERVIEW
CR: Hello, Evelyne, Glad to have you on Canadianravers how are you doing? tell us a bit about yourself?
EC: I am doing well, the first festival edition as a junior buyer back in the day was Osheaga 2011. Started with Evenko around November 2010, before that I was a music journalist weekly called EC like Toronto’s “The Weekly”. I did a few years there and kind of saw how the cultural media was migrating on to the web and it wasn’t really the same freedom of speech or writing we had so I started looking into going behind the scenes and I was lucky enough that a lot of people backed me for this position that was very coveted and I started working with Nick and Dan and the team at Evenko and it has been a wild ride. Osheaga stated the first edition that I worked on; we had the opportunity to book Eminem and then Osheaga kept growing and growing. We had these other opportunities to book Tiësto and David Guetta and even Avicii, they wanted to play Osheaga and because of our site capacity and core fanbase and artistic direction generally for Osheaga. It was impossible for these artists as it was a different genre and a completely different culture. The festival was already sold out, so we didn’t need to branch out to another crowd and genre that was different from the rest of the festival. So, we started talking about building a different property and I kind of led the way with my team to create Îlesoniq to really devote the festival mainly to Electronic Music and be deeply rooted in dance culture and the community. The first year we threw the festival we thought we would do okay as Osheaga it took seven years before it started to sell out completely, but for Îlesoniq it was an instant adoption from the Montreal fans. It was amazing, so we knew we were on to something throwing a day party at Parc Jean Drapeau it was so gorgeous. It took a few years to find a formula to get to really know the fanbase in Montreal and made sure we get everything right for the fanbase attending the festival.
CR: It's incredible that you've curated such a stacked line-up just to bring a bit of normalcy to the festival-goers. How did you and your team decide September would be the best time for Îlesoniq Redux? Having to deal with so many restrictions, I was curious about some of the obstacles along the way when you were curating the line-up?
EC: We are music promoters as we take risks all the time and felt like we had a shot at producing something and we are so disheartened by everything happening around the world. Our personal values are obviously with being super cautious and protecting everyone and we understand the government needs to be strict. At the same time, we saw that the vaccination process was evolving in Quebec and there is still work to be done. We were like well you know it is not a magic thing where it prevents you from getting sick, but it does help alleviate the charge of the health system. So, we took a leap of faith, and we approached the Canadian talent we work closely with as well as you may have noticed that there are some American and European acts on the Îlesoniq Redux line-up. Those are artists that we have been working with, you know Paul Kalkbrenner came to our electro parade in Montreal. He was headlining at Quartier Des Spectacles; he did a free show for 20,000 people. We had him before and his team is top-notch, and his travelling party is reduced to 3 people so there won’t be an issue getting into the country. Also came down to if they had their double doses of the Vaccination as well. So, there are things that we wouldn’t have done to not add to a mix of variables to take a calculated risk. One thing that we did want to impair even though we wanted to celebrate Canadian artists through this, it a great chance to do it. it is not something we see ourselves limit to and focus on the great talent we have here. The artistic impact of the whole festival had to be just as good as we do usually with some restraint. It was important for us to capture a few genres from a huge spectrum, as some people love bass, underground, and mainstream or uplifting music. As the festival is limited capacity and has one stage rather than the three stages like the original Îlesoniq we broke it down to different days to their own home. We didn’t want to mix it up too much, you are looking at other line-ups right now and they have a mix of artists and I completely understand why because of all the bookings, calendar, availability, it is tough for us to do it that way. It was a real challenge but super important for us to keep it separated.
CR: Îlesoniq Redux line-up has so many Canadian artists, and we are really thrilled about that. Could it have been a festival mainly focusing on Canadian talent?
EC: No, like I said I think that celebrating something is not necessarily just closing yourself to others. It is putting the people you want in a great light so to have an all-Canadian line-up would be compared to having an all-female line-up. If the stars align and it works for you that great, but you would need to preserve the quality of your product. Just to do a festival that is 100% Canadian, we could have but the measures we knew that people could have come in we just have to be extra careful. Our headliner is Canadian, which was important to us as well. So, it was kind of a mix of playing around with the restrictions and what is doable, as well as the calculated risk of taking chances on American and European talent to a certain degree. With Osheaga we went 100% Canadian because they are mostly bands so when a band travels, it is a lot more expensive where you have four people on stage, with guitar tech, lighting guy, and TM. So, in the end, there are twelve people coming into the country rather than four. It would be hard for us to control and monitor them regarding COVID19. Those twelve people show up at the border and they lied about having two doses or even has COVID then all of them would be quarantined which wouldn’t be fun for anyone.
CR: Will Îlesoniq Redux take place at the original grounds of Îlesoniq this year?
EC: Yes, it will be at the same location as the original Îlesoniq which is ‘Espace 67’ at Parc Jean Drapeau where the main stage is located with the VIP terrace.
CR: As delta variant cases are on the rise in Canada will the festivalgoers have to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated or a negative test to enter the festival?
EC: That is all dependant on the government, In Quebec, the government has already announced the vaccine passports to be implemented starting September 1. It is not our call to make if we need everyone to be double dosed or negative test to be presented for the festival. We will follow the guidelines provided by the government
CR: As part of Evenko, you curated a lot of events, what was the first event you curated and how was the attendance and your recent event?
EC: Osheaga was the most defining one because you work on festivals for a whole year before you see your work take life and the real magicians are the artists. At a festival, as a producer and as a promoter you have more to do, and it is more on your shoulder to create a vision than just a headline shows at a venue. Osheaga 2011 was my first festival, and it was a full house as it was sold out. It was an amazing feeling I cried, joy, and relief and created a great memory. Even after eleven years, I love to curate small events, whether huge or small events are always full of surprises. Things that you must problem-solve. We had an event recently with Mistress Barbara and Domeno at Jardin Royalmount and it was so much work but at the same time so gratifying to be able to find solutions so that people didn’t feel that they were in covid times. We basically offered everyone VIP service, where everyone had furniture and chair with bottle service. We kept the attendance to a minimum so people could walk around. That whole creative process of problem-solving and making things fun is what I love. That could be with a hundred thousand people or just a thousand people and it is just challenging.
CR: Since Evenko curates a variety of genres, which one is your favourite by far?
EC: In Electronic Music I would tend to say it is the stuff that lives as a live act. Something life Bicep, Rüfüs Du Sol, Paul Kalkbrenner always plays live. You know there is something more organic with something more human. Overall live DJs and bands would be something that I enjoy the most.
CR: Anything else that our followers should know about the festival?
EC: We can’t wait to see people, to have them, to host them. It will not be the same as the original Îlesoniq where you have three stages, and you get to roam around the grounds. It is going to be distanced if the government needs us to be doing that, but we have a huge site that helps. What I would like to tell people is thank you for just being excited to see us and trusting us with the day or weekend that they chose to spend with us. It’s amazing, that level of loyalty and community that make me most proud of everything. It was supposed to be our ninth year
LIGHTING ROUND
Texting or talking? Talking
Coffee or tea? Coffee
Hard liquor or Wine? Wine
Cake or pie? Pie
Hot dogs or hamburgers? Hamburger
Xbox or PlayStation? Headphone music or podcasts
Movie theatre or arcade? Movie theatre
Guitar or piano? To play Piano, to listen to would be a guitar.
Marvel or DC Comics? My kid might be able to answer this, but I have no opinion on this.
Dog or cat? Dog
Hot weather or cold weather? Hot weather
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