Grand Dérangement is an Acadian folk band from southwestern Nova Scotia whose style shows influence of

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

, American, Celtic, and French music. The band's name, literally, "great disturbance", comes from the French name for the Great Expulsion of the Acadians by the British in 1755, a major turning point in Acadian history. Grand Dérangement has toured in the US, Canada, France,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and Germany. Members Briand Melanson, Daniel Leblanc, Jean-Pascal Comeau, and Charles Robicheau have collaborated with musicians such as Luc Tardif, Nathalie Geddry, Jeanne Doucette-Currie, Jean-Étienne Sheehy, and Alphonse Melanson, and have performed at events such as Le Gala des Prix Éloize, Le Gala de la Chanson de la Nouvelle-Écosse, and The Church Point Tsunami Fundraising Concert.

History

In the 1990s, after quitting the band Blou, childhood friends Daniel LeBlanc and Briand Melanson began collaborating with local artist Michel Thibault. The three then recruited well-known pianist Jacky Comeau and started to work on their first album. In 1998, the band released its first album "Tournons la page". In 2000, the band released its second album, "Danse dans les flammes" to great critical acclaim. Though Comeau left the band shortly afterwards due to health issues, the band toured North America and Europe in support of their album, with replacement pianist Armand Dionne from New Brunswick and another new member, guitarist Jean-Pascal Comeau. In 2004, the band's song "Je reviens au berceau de l'Acadie" was selected as the theme song of the World Acadian Congress. The song was later released on the band's third album, an EP entitled "2004" which included re-recorded versions of songs off the first album. The band followed their EP with their fourth album, "Dérangé", which was popular on the radio and brought Grand Dérangement greater popular acclaim. After the success of Dérange, Grand Dérangement brought on another member, Charles Robicheau. In late 2005, the band released "Plane un aigle", which included songs from Dérangé and 2004. The band has since brought on several step-dancers, including Monique Comeau. On August 15, 2006, the band recorded their first live album, "LIVE", which was released in August 2007.

Albums

* ''Tournons la page'' (1998) * ''Danse dans les flammes'' (2000) * ''2004'' (2003) * ''Dérangé'' (2005) * ''Plane un aigle (France Release)'' (2005) * ''LIVE'' (2007)

Members

Grand Dérangement in 2006
The current members of Grand Dérangement are: * Daniel LeBlanc (

Fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, Guitar, Vocals) — Degree received from the California Guitare Institute of Technology * Briand Melanson ( Percussion, lead Vocals) — Degree received from the California Percussion Institute of Technology * Jean-Pascal Comeau ( Bass guitar,

Step dance Step(s) or STEP may refer to: Common meanings * Steps, making a staircase * Walking * Dance move * Military step, or march ** Marching Arts Films and television * ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong * ''Step'' (film), US, 2017 Literature * '' ...

) — Studied at the California Bass Institute of Technology * Charles Robicheau ( Guitar) *

Danielle LeBlanc Danielle is a modern French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. Variants *Dana – Czech, German, Romanian Polish *Danette – English *Daniela – Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, German, ...

(

) Past members include: *

Jacques (Jackie) Comeau Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

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Christiane Theriault, Erin Westby, Janice Comeau, Natalie Robichaud Christiane is a given name, a form of the Latin ''Christiana'', feminine form of ''Christianuis'' (see Christian), or a Latinized form of Middle English ''Christin'' 'Christian' (Old English ''christen'', from Latin).. A short form is Chris. Alter ...

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) *

Armand Dionne Armand refer to: People * Armand (name), list of people with this name * Armand (photographer) (1901–1963), Armenian photographer * Armand (singer) (1946–2015), Dutch protest singer * Sean Armand (born 1991), American basketball player * Arm ...

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Keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

) *

Monique Comeau Monique is a female given name. It is the French form of the name Monica. The name has enjoyed some popularity in the United States since about 1955, and is less common in other English-speaking countries except for Canada although mostly used ...

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)— Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance at York University, Toronto, ON and graduate of dance performance program at George Brown College, Toronto, ON *

Suzanne Comeau Suzanne may refer to: People * Suzanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) * S. U. Zanne, pen name of August Vandekerkhove (1838–1923), Belgian writer and inventor * Suzanne, pen name of Renée Méndez ...

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Awards

External links

Grand Dérangement
official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Derangement) Acadian culture Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups from Nova Scotia Canadian folk music groups Musicians Institute alumni