Le Vent du Nord (The North Wind) is a Canadian folk group from Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu in Quebec. The band performs traditional Quebecois music (which is heavily influenced by Celtic music from both Ireland and Brittany), as well as original numbers in this style, in French. In 2018 the group’s membership consists of Simon Beaudry (vocals, guitar, Irish bouzouki), Nicolas Boulerice (vocals, hurdy gurdy, piano accordian, piano), André Brunet (vocals, fiddle, foot-tapping), Réjean Brunet (vocals, diatonic button accordian, acoustic bass guitar, piano and jaw harp) and Olivier Demers (vocals, fiddle, foot-tapping and guitar). Their first eight recordings have been nominated for multiple awards.
Le Vent du Nord was formed in 2002. Nicolas Boulerice and Olivier Demers founded the band with Sébastien Dufour and Frédéric Samson. This configuration lasted only a short time, changing once they met Benoit Bourque (vocals, diatonic button accordian, Mandolin, bones and step dancing, and) in Vancouver later the same year. With the same interest and passion in folk music, and in spite of the fact that all were engaged in other musical groups at that time, they decided to continue together. Bernard Simard also joined the group on guitar and vocals in the same period. The band officially started in September 2002, and their first album, Maudite Moisson, was released through Borealis Recordings in 2003. The album won a Juno Award for Roots and Tradition Group Album of the Year.
In 2004, Simard was replaced by Simon Beaudry. Bourque was replaced by Réjean Brunet in April 2007. The band performed at the Mémoire et Racines festival in Joliette in July 2008, and later released a recording of this performance, Mesdames et Messieurs. Their 2009 album La part du feu was included in the Top Ten Folk Albums of 2009 by The Boston Globe, and the Top Ten International Albums of 2009 by the Los Angeles Times.
In 2010 the group release an album, Symphonique, and was named Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Their album La part du feu won a 2011 Juno Award. Another album, Tromper le Temps, was released in 2012. Le Vent du Nord released their eighth album, Tetu, in 2015, and the following year band performed in London. They released their ninth album, “Territoires” at Théâtre Fairmont in Montreal in February 2019.
The group exhibits great finesse and flexibility, appearing regularly on Canadian, American, French, and UK television and radio, and participating in a wide variety of special musical projects. They’ve collaborated and performed with a diverse range of artists including: Harry Manx, Väsen, Dervish, The Chieftains, Breton musical pioneer Yann-Fañch Kemener, Québecois roots legend and master storyteller Michel Faubert, the Scottish folk band Breabach, singer Julie Fowlis, and the trans-Mediterranean ensemble Constantinople.
