Le Winston
Photo Credit: Camille Gladu-Drouin

Le Winston Band – Five Questions With

Le Winston Band Tours Their Mardi Gras Show

Renowned for their carnival-style performances, Le Winston Band has been touring its Mardi Gras show for the 9th consecutive year. True to tradition, music, food, dance, and colourful costumes will take center stage during their upcoming tour in Quebec, New Brunswick, and the US.

The quintet stands out with its unique style that blends zydeco, Louisiana, and Quebecois traditional music. Their combination of accordion, guitar, electric bass, washboard, and drums is warm and festive. Having played over 600 concerts across Canada, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, France, Belgium, and Switzerland, the band spreads its wild energy wherever they perform!

Their album Zig Zag Zydeco Zoo received multiple nominations at the ADISQ Gala and GAMIQ Awards in the “Best World Music Album” category. In 2022, The Winston Band won the GAMIQ Award for Best World Music Album for their EP Enwèye à Lafayette.

The band t0ured this new edition of their Mardi Gras tour in Quebec, New Brunswick, and the United States, where they will also showcase their new album, Winston Express

With two shows remaining, Tonight (February 24, 2024) at Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Sea Shack, and February 25 at Le Bic, Jazz sous Zéro (Festi Jazz International de Rimouski), it is now a show to be missed.

First off care to introduce yourself to our readers?

We are Le Winston Band, a one-of-a-kind Montreal-based ensemble that blends its French-Canadian roots with Zydeco and Cajun music. Since 2012, due to a sound that is derived from both the rich musical traditions of Louisiana and their own identity as Montrealers, we have been sharing our joie de vivre with audiences across North America and Europe. 

Tell us a bit about your recent release.

 “Winston Express” was released during the Mardi Gras festivities in 2023. It includes 11 original songs, such as Lache la patate (drop the potato), Fais-moi tien (make me yours), and Laisse mon coeur tranquille (Leave my heart alone). It was produced by Erik West-Millette and features musicians from Louisiana (Chris Stafford, Louis Michot) and French Manitoban vocalist Annick Brémault. 

How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow? 

Often, we come up with different ideas, riffs, lyrics, or songs individually or as a group and then we compose and arrange the music together in order to create our unique sound. Some may say we process the music in the Winston machine. 

Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project? 

We recently released a music video for “Lache la patate” and we are currently on tour.

Feb 24 – Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Sea Shack
Feb 25 – Rimouski, Carnaval du Bic
Mar 14 – Syracuse (NY), 443 Social Club
Mar 15 – Philadelphia (PA), T K Club
Mar 16 – Rochester (NY), Harmony House
Mar 17 – London (ON), London Brewing Coop
Mar 19 – Chicago (IL), The Hide Out
Mar 21 – Minneapolis (MN), The Cedar
Mar 23 – Toronto (ON), Drum Taberna
Mar 29 – Mont-Laurier, Théâtre Muni-Spec
Mar 30 – Rouyn-Noranda, Le QG

Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight? 

The release of our second album Zig Zag Zydeco Zoo helped to establish our unique sound and really put Le Winston Band on the map. We were able to tour all over Canada and Europe and our song Enfirouaper received quite a bit of airplay. This certainly was a turning point that led to many highlights for the band. 

Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?

We are very inspired by music from Louisiana so here are a few of our favourite artists from the Zydeco world. Koray Broussard, Mike Broussard, Daiquiri Queens, and The Revelers.

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