Acadian music has always been an integral part of Adrienne Gallant’s life.
Since the age of nine, the Summerside musician has performed Acadian songs with her father Paul D. Gallant, who is a songwriter, playwright, and musician.
She said while not everyone understands French, music is its own universal language.
“A lot of people do say even if they don’t understand a word, they felt it,” she said.
“Music is about feeling.”
Gallant showcased her talent at the Music Mosaic on Saturday at The Guild during the 2019 Credit Union Music P.E.I. Week.
The Music Mosaic featured a multicultural array of talent from singer-songwriter Mario “Fayo” LeBlanc performing Acadian music with Chiac words to Julie and Richard Pellissier-Lush’s performance of traditional Indigenous songs.
Other performers included the Arsenault Trio, Joshua Obembe and the Holland College School of Performing Arts’ (SOPA) World Music Ensemble.
“It’s kind of a demonstration of what we have here and how diverse the (music) landscape actually is,” said Cynthia MacLeod, team leader for Music P.E.I. Week.
Obembe is a Nigerian musician who moved to Charlottetown in 2015 to pursue school. He’s currently studying accounting at UPEI and kinesiology at Holland College.
He performed original songs in traditional English mixed with Pidgin English, which is a dialect in Nigeria.
“It’s an afro-type of sound and I draw my inspiration from everything around me, what I see people go through and how I feel in that point in time,” said Obembe, who writes songs from a studio in his apartment.
Obembe said he would like to see more multicultural music events on P.E.I.
“I think (the Music Mosaic) is very, very good because it hasn’t been happening a lot on the Island,” he said. “I have not seen a lot of events that bring different cultures together.”
For Gallant’s performance, she sang songs her father wrote.
“For people who know my dad through over 40 years of songwriting, it’s nostalgic to go through it and it’s nice to be able to take them there,” she said.
She said while there were times in her life when she considered performing more English songs, it’s the family connection that reminds her of how important her Acadian background is.
“When I grew up and had my own son I realized how important French was,” she said. “I always knew it was important for my family to keep it.”
