FME announce a special edition of the festival

The 18th edition of The Festival de musique émergente (FME) is set to take place September 3–5, taking the audience to the roots of the festival through a limited series of performances.

Given the current situation the FME will host about 20 musical acts – a much smaller scale than the annual 4-day event that typically invites guests from all over the globe. According to the festival organizers these small-scale concerts will “scrupulously adhere to public health guidelines” with limited venue capacity and strict indoor mask requirements.

Artists will be performing under the SiriusXM banner on the Lake Osisko peninsula, at the Flavrian Lake Outdoor Centre, and at the Noranda Golf Club – all outdoor spaces with plenty of room for social distancing. The line up consists of a handful of Quebecois projects and emerging artists across a variety of genres and “particular consideration has been given to groups whose career strategies have been gravely affected by the pandemic,” state the organizers.

All shows, including free events, will require reservation with a limit of 4 tickets per person. In addition to the outdoor spaces mentioned above there will be many other venues, also with limited capacities, scattered around Rouyn-Noranda. These include “5-à-7“ and evening concerts, as well as a few daytime surprises.

This year’s FME Hub will be located at the curling arena at 218 Murdoch Ave. which will be transformed to house CFME Radio, the VR Garden, the online ticket office, the FME merchandise kiosk, and the physical ticket office.

Cover photo: Alyosha by William Arcand