Five captivating women will perform two shows on Thursday and Friday, November 5 and 6, 2015. On Thursday night, cellist and vocalist Helen Gillet will open the show at Chickie Wah Wah for Canadian songstresses, Chic Gamine. She will also sit in with the band. Gillet hits at 8 PM. On Friday evening, an encore performance will take place at the Louisiana Music Factory. Gillet will appear at 6 PM and Chic Gamine will follow at 7 PM. These are the only current U.S. appearances by Chic Gamine.
Though it defies perfect translation, Chic Gamine means roughly “stylish, mischievous, young thing” in Canadian French. The band features four female alternating lead vocalists who blend a mix of Motown-style girl group harmonies, R&B, nouveau pop, and vintage soul.
Add a male drummer with roots in Brazil and a guitarist backing the three vocalists/multi-instrumentalists and what emerges is an energetic, hip-shaking band that is completely original. Their soulful, captivating three-part songs artfully span the musical map and are completely at home in New Orleans.
Chic Gamine burst onto the North American musical consciousness in 2007 when the Winnipeg-based singers and musicians hooked up with a drummer working in Montreal. They began immediately wowing audiences with their wicked, witty sound and winsome stage presence. Two of the many highlights of their early career—they opened for Smokey Robinson, and in an intimate moment that will end up in their scrapbooks forever, the legendary Mavis Staples said they reminded her of her family band, the Staple Singers.
Their self-titled Canadian debut won a Juno Award (Canada’s Grammy) for Best Roots Album of 2009. Chic Gamine was selected to perform at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. Their third studio album, Light A Match, dropped everywhere on October 23rd, 2015.
Expect collaboration between the two acts.
