La Famille LeBlanc - Acadian Music From New Brunswick - Celebration Series

In the heart of the Baie des Chaleurs in New Brunswick, the LeBlanc family lives on an ancestral farm that is almost self-sufficient thanks to its historic orchard, its chicken coop, its cow and its cheese cellar. For the parents of a family with three children, it is essential to preserve traditions, to share them and especially to pass them on.

The same goes for music, as Robin LeBlanc, his wife Rebecca and their three daughters Charlotte, Rosalie and Mélodie spend many hours performing songs and tunes from the traditional repertoire from the Acadian Peninsula to the Gaspé Peninsula, through Cheticamp to Memramcook, the village of their ancestors, through Prince Edward Island, the Magdalen Islands, Newfoundland and across the Atlantic to their homeland: Poitou in France.

Robin LeBlanc has been a fiddler and pianist for many years. His first album "Sur l'an premier pour danser" (2016) in collaboration with Nicolas Basque is a reference for fans of traditional Acadian music. For about 10 years, he has been searching through the Acadian music heritage to unearth old traditional tunes. With his family, he's worked to save this repertoire from oblivion and brings it up to date with more modern arrangements. Tunes and songs are often of Irish, Scottish, British and French origin. The family has a repertoire of over 300 pieces. Rebecca, who participated in Cégep en spectacle in Quebec, brings the airy touch to the ensemble as she leads the dances and sings.

The girls have been playing music since they were young. They represent the 6th generation of a long line of traditional Acadian musicians in the LeBlanc family. The family heritage continues to be passed on through the love and sharing of music, and one of their uncles has been a vital link in allowing the young ladies to play pieces from their great-great-great grandfather's repertoire.

The family has already traveled to France and Korea to present their music. They were supposed to launch a European tour but the pandemic changed their plans. It is therefore with the desire to immortalize the encounters and musical discoveries that the LeBlanc Family recorded in two days, from their kitchen, in the spirit of self-sufficiency and simplicity that defines them, their first album "Trois jolies demoiselles".

The LeBlanc Family inspires and attracts the attention of filmmakers and television programs around the world. In 2020, director Francine Hébert released the documentary film "Une façon d’être ensemble”, presenting the daily life, talent and determination of the exceptional LeBlanc Family. This film was premiered at the 2020 virtual edition of the Festival International du Cinéma Francophone en Acadie. In addition, following the sharing by the English blogger, The Music Man, of a video of the family where the girls are dancing a jig while playing traditional instruments, the LeBlancs were approached by the senior producer of the show “America's Got Talent” who were invited to submit a video application. In March 2021, they were approached by the French show “La France a un incroyable talent” to perform on their next season. The magazine Folklore Québec also dedicated the front page of the March 2021 issue to them.