“Fallait être là: Regard(s) sur la scène musicale québécoise (2013-2023),” by photographer Marc-Étienne Mongrain translates to “you had to be there.” I’m not kidding, you had to experience what happened within the Quebec music scene between 2013-2023. I came across this book during the 2024 Francos de Montréal music event, and it’s pretty much a collection of photographs documenting the local music scene, here in Quebec between 2013-2023. Many would criticize, or even dare to think that not much really happened, where it’s all the same, and dull. Well, you’re wrong and you should know it!! First of all, each musician is unique, it’s impossible that everything would sound the same. And, there’s so much great music out there that happened within the past ten years like Jean Leloup FINALLY coming back into our lives in 2016 with his kick ass comeback record titled, “À Paradis City.” I’ve looped this record so many times, because of Leloup’s creativity, and intriguing melodies. We’ve also witnessed the rise of Hubert Lenoir, releasing his “Darlène” record in 2018 that immediately caught everyone’s attention, no doubt! Give it a listen, and you’ll see how amazing it is, trust me! Klô Pelgag kept amazing us at every show, especially when she performed her music in front of a large audience back in 2018 at the Francos de Montreal festival while wearing a silver outer space suit. Badass! It makes sense to me that this was the period where the music was alive. It also made sense to me that there was a sort of “musical congregation” happening, where everyone was vibing all together to the same great beat being laid down by a local band, or musician. And I get that. From Sudbury all the way to Moncton, and from Sherbrooke all the Rouyn Noranda, and from Montreal all the way to Quebec city, everyone was sharing this similar musical vibe, where creativity was at its place! Simple as that! And I dig that, because even if 2023 was way too close, and only last year, the only thing that I’ll be looking forward to is what’s next. If we got to experience one of the greatest moments between 2013-2023 such as Ariane Moffatt releasing her killer synth pop record tilted “22h22,” Les Cowboy Fringants releasing “Les antipodes,” in 2018 or even being flooded by a bunch of memories whenever I’m listening to “L’Amour,” by Karim Ouellette. To me, there’s no doubt that this was one of the greatest periods in music history, PERIOD!