Here, the International Hot Air Balloon Festival is one of the summer’s must-see events. We go for the hot air balloons, of course, but also for the shows that stay with us for years to come.
Everyone has memorable moments here: a first concert with friends, a wonderful evening with family, a song sung in unison by thousands of people, or an artist who completely blew us away.
Some of these memories make us smile. Others become even more precious with time.
If we had to name one performance that has left its mark on the festival’s recent history, the Cowboys Fringants’ show on August 17, 2023, would certainly come up time and again.
That evening, the venue was packed. Tens of thousands of people had flocked to the International, to the point where many were unable to see the stage. The important thing was simply to be there, to enjoy the moment, and to cheer on Karl Tremblay and the Cowboys Fringants.
All of Quebec knew that Karl Tremblay was seriously ill. As the summer wore on, the uncertainty had only grown. As August 17 approached, many of us here feared that the show might not take place after all. When it became clear that the Cowboys Fringants would indeed take the stage, we knew we were lucky to be able to see them.
As soon as the first notesof “Ici-bas” rang out, you could already tell the evening would be memorable. Given Karl Tremblay’s health, the lyrics took on a whole new meaning.
Despite his illness, Karl delivered a performance of exceptional generosity. He gave it his all. At one point, exhaustion forced him to sit down. Far from disrupting the flow, those moments created an incredible sense of closeness with the audience. As if gathered around a campfire, the band revisited several of its most beautiful ballads in a more intimate atmosphere.
Then, completely out of the blue, the Cowboys Fringants launched into Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” a nod to the American band that had just performed in Montreal a few days earlier. The crowd erupted in surprise.
As if all that weren't enough, the evening ended with the classic *Les étoiles filantes*.
The next day, the Cowboys Fringants had to cancel their scheduled performance elsewhere in Quebec to give Karl time to recover. That’s when we began to realize just how fortunate we’d been to experience that evening. Less than three months later, Quebec learned of his death.
On August 17, 2023, tens of thousands of people attended an extraordinary event. Looking back, we realize that they were, above all, witnesses to a moment that now holds a very special place in the history of the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu International Hot Air Balloon Festival. Every edition of the International leaves behind its own set of memories. Some even become part of our collective history.
