Grand Dérangement is an Acadian folk band from southwestern

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

whose style shows influence of

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the desc ...

, American, Celtic, and French music. The band's name, literally, "great disturbance", comes from the French name for the

Great Expulsion The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...

of the Acadians by the British in 1755, a major turning point in Acadian history. Grand Dérangement has toured in the US,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Members Briand Melanson, Daniel Leblanc, Jean-Pascal Comeau, and Charles Robicheau have collaborated with musicians such as Luc Tardif, Nathalie Geddry, Jeanne Doucette-Currie, Jean-Étienne Sheehy, and Alphonse Melanson, and have performed at events such as Le Gala des Prix Éloize, Le Gala de la Chanson de la Nouvelle-Écosse, and The Church Point Tsunami Fundraising Concert.

History

In the 1990s, after quitting the band Blou, childhood friends Daniel LeBlanc and Briand Melanson began collaborating with local artist Michel Thibault. The three then recruited well-known pianist Jacky Comeau and started to work on their first album. In 1998, the band released its first album "Tournons la page". In 2000, the band released its second album, "Danse dans les flammes" to great critical acclaim. Though Comeau left the band shortly afterwards due to health issues, the band toured North America and Europe in support of their album, with replacement pianist Armand Dionne from New Brunswick and another new member, guitarist Jean-Pascal Comeau. In 2004, the band's song "Je reviens au berceau de l'Acadie" was selected as the theme song of the World Acadian Congress. The song was later released on the band's third album, an EP entitled "2004" which included re-recorded versions of songs off the first album. The band followed their EP with their fourth album, "Dérangé", which was popular on the radio and brought Grand Dérangement greater popular acclaim. After the success of Dérange, Grand Dérangement brought on another member, Charles Robicheau. In late 2005, the band released "Plane un aigle", which included songs from Dérangé and 2004. The band has since brought on several step-dancers, including Monique Comeau. On August 15, 2006, the band recorded their first live album, "LIVE", which was released in August 2007.

Albums

* ''Tournons la page'' (1998) * ''Danse dans les flammes'' (2000) * ''2004'' (2003) * ''Dérangé'' (2005) * ''Plane un aigle (France Release)'' (2005) * ''LIVE'' (2007)

Members

Grand Dérangement in 2006
The current members of Grand Dérangement are: * Daniel LeBlanc (

Fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the ...

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

) — Degree received from the California Guitare Institute of Technology * Briand Melanson (

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, lead

) — Degree received from the California Percussion Institute of Technology * Jean-Pascal Comeau (

Bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Step dance Step(s) or STEP may refer to: Common meanings * Steps, making a staircase * Walking * Dance move * Military step, or march ** Marching Arts Films and television * ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong * ''Step'' (film), US, 2017 Literature * ...

) — Studied at the California Bass Institute of Technology * Charles Robicheau (

) * Danielle LeBlanc (

) Past members include: * Jacques (Jackie) Comeau (

Keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

) * Christiane Theriault, Erin Westby, Janice Comeau, Natalie Robichaud (

) * Armand Dionne ( Keyboards) * Monique Comeau (

)— Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance at York University, Toronto, ON and graduate of dance performance program at George Brown College, Toronto, ON * Suzanne Comeau (

)

Awards

External links

Grand Dérangement
official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Derangement) Acadian culture Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups from Nova Scotia Canadian folk music groups Musicians Institute alumni