The duo first met at the Barfly, a singular place that some call “Montreal’s bluegrass headquarters”. In 2018, over the course of these Barfly evenings, Véranda came into being through a shared passion for bluegrass and old country music.

Catherine-Audrey Lachapelle and Léandre Joly-Pelletier, the two founding members of the group, come from different backgrounds, and this is one of the things that give their work such a rich texture. Catherine-Audrey, initially an actor, brings freshness and sensitivity to their music. Léandre, a veteran multi-instrumentalist , enriches the songs with his virtuosity. Véranda offers a perfect blend of influences, deftly combining the simplicity of old country and the virtuosity of bluegrass, offering rich melodies enhanced with refined harmonics.

As a one-of-a-kind duo, Véranda duo made a notable entry into the country/bluegrass music scene in 2019 with “Woodland Waltz”, their first EP, released in English. It was quickly recognised as one of the best albums in that half-year according to the rankings of national media ICI Musique, which praised Véranda’s work as “inspired by artists of the class of Loretta Lynn or a young Dolly Parton. The duo makes no compromises and draws on its country origins, all to the greater enjoyment.”

Avidly creative and motivated by their passion, Véranda wasted no time releasing a second EP, this time in French. The duo’s last mini-album, “Yodel bleu”, released in May 2020, won the prize for best album in the Country category at the 2020 GAMIQ (Gala alternatif de la Musique Indépendante du Québec), in addition to garnering a nomination for Véranda at the 2020 Country Gala in the “Discovery of the Year” category. Clearly, the duo stimulated the curiosity of the most die-hard audiences and fans of bluegrass. Véranda’s reputation spread all the way to our southern neighbours, the true originators of the bluegrass style. The two most important cultural media for American bluegrass, “Bluegrass Today” and the “Bluegrass Situation”, gave the Quebec duo their seal of approval, emphasizing in their review the quality of their work and the uniqueness of their approach. Of course, they were not the only ones to believe that Véranda was here to stay, and that the pair had plenty more in store to pique their interest. Not surprisingly, Véranda is one of Quebec’s five country music recruits to keep on the radar, according to SOCAN.

Bolstered by a host of shows across Quebec, the Maritimes and Western Canada, as well as two new nominations at the 2022 Country Gala (“Songwriter-Composer” and “Band of the Year”), the duo has naturally continued to fine-tune and develop its style. Leaning toward slightly more modern influences in composing both the music and the lyrics, Véranda launched its most recent album (a first long-play entirely in French) in September 2022, entitled “Là-bas” (Down there), on the “Big in the Garden” label. And most recently, the duo won the RADARTS Award at the 2023 Gala de la bourse RIDEAU, the most important annual rendez-vous of the performing arts industry in Québec.

An evening presented by Air Canada.

Are you a member of Le Centre? Sign in to get discounts on your tickets! Discounts will be applied automatically after ticket selection.