Musical culture is part of the DNA in the Nova Scotia Acadian community of Baie Sainte-Marie. Brimming with talent, members of the local music scene are reinventing tradition and taking their vibrant rhythms far beyond the region’s boundaries. Rich in dialect and bursting with local tunes, Trécarré invites us to discover the magic of music that asks us not just to listen, but to share it, dance to it and live it.
For generations, a love of music has gotten hearts beating and toes tapping in the southwestern Nova Scotia Acadian community of Baie Sainte-Marie. The tunes first emerged from a clearing in the forest known as le Trécarré—far from the disapproving eyes of local priests. But don’t be fooled: while this unique musical culture is rooted in the past, it hasn’t become a fossilized folk tradition or been reduced to tourist entertainment. On the contrary, Baie Sainte-Marie’s musical identity remains vital, with “the power of a large wave at sea.”
Musical creativity is part of the community’s DNA, continually changing and being renewed, just like the tides. Le Trécarré and the surrounding area are brimming with talent, ensuring that music remains a part of the social fabric while its cultural influence spreads. Today, bluegrass and country are mixed with rock, punk, hip-hop and tech house sounds. Bands like Grand Dérangement, Peanut Butter Sunday, Radio-Radio and many others are reinventing French, Scottish and American traditions, taking their vibrant rhythms far beyond the boundaries of Acadia and francophone Canada.
A key figure in the local scene, director Natalie Robichaud immerses us in the exhilarating, inviting and inclusive world of these passionate artists—for whom everything is an occasion to celebrate. Rich in regional dialect and bursting with local tunes, Trécarré: Exploring the Saint Mary’s Bay Sound invites us to discover the magic of music that’s not content with just asking us to listen, but insists that we dance to it, share it and live it.
A film by
Natalie Robichaud
Produced by
Christine Aubé
Director, Scriptwriter and Researcher
Natalie Robichaud
Director of Photography
Gilles Doiron
Editor
Pamela Gallant
Director Mentor and Story Consultant
Anika Lirette
With the participation of
Florence Arnault
Susan Barley
Joanne Belliveau
Josette Beubotin
Jacques Blinn
James Clark
Chad Comeau
David Comeau
Monique Comeau
Reta Comeau
Yvon Comeau
Isabella Cyr
Julia Deal
Sébastien Dol
Helen Doucet
Magdalena Geppert
Marie Girardeau
Mary Guptill
Nora Herskell
Robert Herskell
George Hicks
Laura Hicks
Roberta Journey
Anne Marie LeBlanc
Daniel LeBlanc
Edesse LeBlanc
Sophie LeBlanc
Cameron McNamara
Briand Melanson
Elaine Melanson
Francis Robichaud
Simon Robichaud
Raven Rusch
David Saulnier
Gilles Saulnier
Gloria Saulnier
Janice Saulnier
Jeanne Saulnier
Lydie Saulnier
June Saulnier Melanson
Michael Saulnier
Noah Saulnier
Rose-Marie Saulnier
Russell Saulnier
Timmy Saulnier
Mark Tarmalczyk
Diane Thimot
Elaine Thimot
Actors
Jean-Luc Comeau
Nita-Josée Hanna
Nicholas MacLean
Sophie Maillet
François Thibault
Narrators
Nadine Belliveau
Natalie Robichaud
Sound Recordists, Sound Designers and Re-recording Mixers
Patrick Martin, Alec Victor – Aurum Waves Studio
Narration Recordist
Jacques Blinn – Productions pour le peuple
Online Editor and Colorisation
Serge Verreault
Graphic Designer
Mélanie Bouchard
Transcription
Yvette Comeau
Subtitling
difuze
Foley
Simon Meilleur
Foley Recordist
Geoffrey Mitchell
Archival and Music Research and Clearances
Emma Brunet – LaNégo
Original Music
Daniel LeBlanc
© 2024 National Film Board of Canada (SOCAN)
Composer Mentor
Jean-François Mallet
Musicians
Jacques Blinn
David Comeau
Yvon Comeau
Sébastien Dol
Daniel LeBlanc
Cameron McNamara
Briand Melanson
David Saulnier
Gloria Saulnier
Michael Saulnier
Russell Saulnier
Timmy Saulnier
Additional Music
« C’est la vie »
Normand Pothier, Michael Saulnier
« Daybreak in Dixie »
Ralph Stanley
© Fort Knox Music Co., Trio Music Company
« Enfant Spécial »
Alexandre Bilodeau, Jacques Alphonse Doucet, Gabriel Malenfant
© Third Side Music
« Fatigué »
Michael Saulnier
« Just For What I Am »
Dallas Frazier, Arthur Leo Owens
© Sony ATV, Unichappell Music
« La match »
Denis Comeau
© SOCAN
« Le reel à Jacques »
Jacques Comeau, Daniel LeBlanc, Briand Melanson
« Les bateaux dans la baie »
Jonah Richard Guimond
© Les Éditions Bonsound
« Les p’tites cabanes »
Baptiste Comeau
« Lucky One »
Robert Lee Castleman
© Farm Use Only Music
« Lupines »
Jacques Blinn, Jonah Guimond
© Les Éditions Bonsound
« Ma tête »
Normand Pothier, Michael Saulnier
« Margo »
Albert LeBlanc
« Notre retour »
Julien Weaver
« Poésie à la Baie »
Normand LeBlanc
« Rat d’tchais »
Denis Comeau
« Running Hard On A Broken Heart »
Charles A. Costantino
« Too Late To Cry »
John Harold Pennell
© Happy Valley Music, Solargrass Music
« Vivre à la Baie »
Kenneth Saulnier
© Les Éditions Sans Non, Frank Furtado Pub., Les Éditions Gabbro (SOCAN)
Archival material
Elaine Agatha Comeau
George Comeau
Germaine Comeau
Phil Comeau
Denise Comeau Desautels
Rose Cormier
Charlene d’Entremont
Luc d’Eon
Sébastien Dol
Frédéric Matte, Le Soleil
Rachelle Richard Léger
David Saulnier
Rose Marie Saulnier
Elaine Melanson
Centre acadien of the Université Sainte-Anne
Conseil de la Nouvelle-Écosse Archives
CTV News Stox/Bell Media Inc.
Radio-Canada Archives
Wheeling Jamboree Museum Digital Archives
Clips from « Johnny à Dennis à Alfred » (1975) « Son des Français d’Amérique »
Listed at the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register
Co-direction Michel Brault and André Gladu
Show « Étoiles du CSAP 2023 »,
produced by FéCANE and directed by Valentin Alfano
Thanks to
Marcel Aymar
Alexandre Arthur Bilodeau
Arcade Comeau
Phil Comeau
Roger Gervais
André Gladu
Brennan Gough
Céleste Huchet
Rachelle LeBlanc
Renette Robichaud
Richard Robichaud
François Thibault
Bangor Sawmill
Clare Golf and Country Club
Le Richelieu, La Butte
Seashore Restaurant, Meteghan
Société acadienne de Clare Board of Directors
Université Sainte-Anne, Pointe-de-l’Église
Marketing Manager
Nathalie Guérard
Line Producer
Geneviève Duguay
Administrator
Sia Koukoulas
Senior Production Coordinator
Audrey Rétho
Technical Coordinator
Jean-François Laprise
Video Technical Support
Pierre Dupont
Patrick Trahan
Albert Kurian
Audio Technical Support
Bernard Belley
Legal Counsel
Julie Patry
Producer
Christine Aubé
Executive Producer
Nathalie Cloutier
Union des artistes – UDA
Directors Guild of Canada – Guilde canadienne des réalisateur⸱trices
Société des auteur.e.trice.s de radio, télévision et cinéma (SARTEC)
Canadian Federation of Musicians – Fédération canadienne des musiciens
TRÉCARRÉ
Exploring the Saint Mary’s Bay Sound
A production of
the National Film Board of Canada
nfb.ca
© 2024 National Film Board of Canada