Tickets for both La Slague concert series — Grand Slague and Petite Slague — are beginning to sell out, according to organizers.

Music lovers are advised to purchase their tickets soon, Christian Pelletier, Carrefour francophone promotion and communications officer, said recently.

“A word to the wise: the Petite Slague series — three concerts presented in intimate venues — is selling briskly,” said Pelletier, in a release.

“The fan base of La Slague has awakened and they are actively buying our tickets.”

The first of the series — a performance by Marie-Pierre Arthur, held Jan. 20 at Little Montreal — sold out in advance, Pelletier confirmed.

The remaining concerts are Stef Paquette at the Collège Boréal cafeteria, March 6 at 8 p.m., and Yann Perreau, May 6 in an undisclosed location.

Pelletier said the quality of the musicians is what is attracting the interest.

“It is the artists. Marie and Yann are very well-known and Stef is a Sudbury musician. We have tripled the season passes to Petite Slague from last year.”

While the season passes have already sold out, a few tickets remain for individual shows. Paquette tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for post-secondary students and seniors, and a limited number of $5 tickets are available for high school students.

“Demand was such that we had to move Stef to a larger venue, from the Collège Boréal pub, where capacity is 110,” Pelletier said. “The show is now at the Collège Boréal cafeteria, where 200 can be seated.”

The venue for the Perreau show has been set, but has not yet been announced. Tickets are selling well for the show, even though it is months away, Pelletier said. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for post-secondary students and seniors, with a limited number of $5 tickets for high school students.

Tickets for the Grand Slague concert series, in larger venues, are also selling quickly, Pelletier added.

La Slague has announced that Geneviève Toupin, folk and pop artist originally from Manitoba, will open for Montreal’s Luc De Larochellière on Feb. 6 at Laurentian University’s Alphonse-Raymond auditorium. Toupin has lived and performed in Paris, France and has been featured at a number of high profile francophone festivals in France and Quebec, Pelletier said.

“Geneviève Toupin is a disarmingly authentic young singer-songwriter from Manitoba,” he said. “Often tinged with melancholy, her voice melds with words and images that rise and fall on the waves of hope and doubt in love and life.”
The pianist will appear with her band, as will Larochellière, Pelletier added.

“Guitarist Luc Larochellière had many hits in the mid 1990s. His Chinatown Blues and Cash City were big in both French and English markets.”

The second Grand Slague concert is performed by guitarist Kevin Parent on April 7.

“Kevin Parent is our really big name in our series. He is an excellent singer-songwriter from the Gaspé with an Acadian accent. He will have an accompanist with him.”

Pelletier said if people are unfamiliar with any of these artists, they can visit La Slague Radio at www.laslague.ca to listen to a two-hour long playlist of the artists’ songs.

All tickets are sold at Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario ticket office, 21 Lasalle Blvd. or by phone at 525-5606 ext. 4.