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Music

Quebec Mourns the Passing of Karl Tremblay from Les Cowboys Fringants

The singer of the Cowboys Fringants passed away on Wednesday, November 15, after a long battle with cancer.

Karl Tremblay

Karl Tremblay

SamuelFreli, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quebec's music scene is mourning. Karl Tremblay, the lead singer of Les Cowboys Fringants, has passed away from prostate cancer after three years with the disease. He was 47.

The remaining three members of Les Cowboys Fringants are now bereft of their voice and longtime friend and bandmate. Marie-Annick Lépine, who was also his partner, Jean-François Pauzé, and Jérôme Dupras, expressed "indescribable sadness" on Facebook. They described him as an exemplary warrior in the face of illness and a role model for all.


The reactions were swift, as Les Cowboys Fringants, considered true icons of Quebecois music for over two decades, were mourned for the importance Karl Tremblay held in the province and the broader Francophonie. Rapper Koriass called him "a pillar of contemporary Quebec culture," and Mitsou Gélinas, the singer of the hit "Bye Bye mon cowboy," described him as a "divine artist and composer" on Instagram.

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Les Cowboys Fringants have been celebrated for numerous critically acclaimed and popular songs such as "En berne," "Les étoiles filantes," "Toune d'automne," "Ti-cul," "Plus rien," and "L'Amérique pleure." The group, formed in Repentigny in the 1990s, has won many awards. In 2002, they won their first Félix for the alternative album Break Syndical during the ADISQ Gala.

On Nov. 5 of this year, Les Cowboys Fringants received their latest Félix in the Group of the Year category. The comedian and host of the ADISQ Gala, Louis-José Houde, dedicated the evening to Karl Tremblay. Despite living with cancer, Tremblay and his bandmates played for nearly 90,000 people on the Plains of Abraham in July for the Festival d'été de Québec.

The sudden departure of Karl Tremblay has also drawn responses from politicians. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec's Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe and others have put out statements that acknowledge his significant impact. François Legault, the Premier of Quebec, has even offered a national funeral to the Tremblay family.

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To honour Karl Tremblay's memory, several Quebec institutions, including the city halls of Montreal and Quebec City, have decided to lower their flags to half-mast.

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Blue Rodeo at The Kee To Bala.
Courtesy Photo

Blue Rodeo at The Kee To Bala.

Concerts

Nelly, Cypress Hill, Billy Talent, The Beaches Highlight Muskoka Venue The KEE To Bala's  2025 Lineup

A musically diverse group of major international and Canadian stars will take to the historic stage in Ontario cottage country this summer, including Billy Corgan, Shaggy, The Reklaws, Down With Webster and more.

A historic and popular music venue in the Muskoka cottage country region of Ontario for the past eight decades, The KEE To Bala was taken over by Live Nation in 2023, and the clout of the international concert behemoth has upped the ante.

That's evident in the bookings. Today (May 5), this season's lineup was announced, and it again features major international and Canadian artists as headliners. Heading the international names are R&B superstar Nelly, fast-rising young American country star Dylan Gossett, alt-rockers Billy Corgan and The Machines of God with Collective Soul, reggae hitmaker Shaggy, rock veterans The Wallflowers and hip-hop stars Cypress Hill & Ja Rule.

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