Friday, February 2, 2007

In French. The news was hardly out and the show had completely sold. For the first time in its history, the FVA is scheduling a held-over show (a day early!). Richard Desjardins, the Guest of Honour at the 6th FVA, will have twice the number of music and poetry lovers at his feet at the La Tulipe cabaret. After touring Quebec for two years with his Kanasuta Project, Desjardins is back with a one-man show. As unbending as ever, and even more determined, he will appear with nothing but his voice, his guitar, and words that speak with conviction, passion, and generosity.

It’s not surprising that the FVA has chosen Richard Desjardins as its featured artist this year. Who better to represent all the forms that poetry can take as it moves from page to stage? Richard Desjardins does more than sing. Desjardins speaks his texts, performs his poems and slams his rants. By inviting him to be this year’s Guest of Honour, the FVA is saluting an enormous talent, a man who is authentic, free, and uncategorizable — at once an anarchist and a profound believer. To paraphrase one of his own songs, “Once you fall in love with this man, you’ll love him forever.”

Open mic, bilingual.