On Oct. 24, 2024, the Francophone country communities of Québec and Canada gathered at Montréal’s MTELUS to celebrate the 2024 edition of the Gala Country. Hosted for a second time by country singer Guylaine Tanguay, the event presented 16 Willie Awards and several cash prizes to outstanding projects over the past year, and also featured a variety of musical performances.
SiriusXM awarded a $1,500 cash prize to Émilie Daraîche, who won the Album of the Year – Classic Country category; a $2,000 cash prize to Grande Ourse for “Au Nord Bar,” winner of the Song of the Year category; and a $1,500 cash prize to the Album of the Year – Contemporary Country winners, Les Gars du Nord, who also won as Breakthrough Artist of the year (see our story on the nominees in this category).
Two more artists also won double awards: Patrick Norman (Live Show of the Year and Francophone Male Artist of the Year) and Matt Lang (Album of the Year – Covers and Male Artist of the Year – Other Languages). Francis Degrandpré was named Songwriter of the Year, and Sandrine Hébert won the People’s Choice Award. Both had won in the same categories in 2023.
Performance-wise, the gala hostess kicked things off with “Bienvenue chez nous,” a nod to her own song “Bienvenue chez moi.” The festivities continued with a very personal guitar-and-voice rendition of Gildor Roy’s “Une autre chambre d’hôtel” by Karo Laurendeau, to mark the 30th anniversary of Roy’s eponymous album. Les LeBlanc and Trudy sang “Pas d’proche parenté” and “Go Solo,” respectively, and Matt Lang also took to the stage with “Sweet On You.” Lendemain de veille, who won the Group of the Year award, played a piano-bar version of “Bière froide,” before Guylaine Tanguay, Léa Jarry, and Emmanuelle Boucher sang the closing number, a touching medley of songs by Québec’s great country family dynasties.
Complete list of winners
Songwriter of the Year
Francis Degrandpré
Song of the Year
“Au Nord Bar”
Sung by Grande Ourse
Album of the Year – Classic Country
Émilie Daraîche – Ailleurs
Album of the Year – Contemporary Country
Les Gars du Nord – Les fils du père
Album of the Year – Other Languages
Blue Ridge Band – Down to Business
Album of the Year – Covers
Matt Lang – Moonlight Sessions
Duo or Group of the Year
Lendemain de veille
Francophone Female Artist of the Year
Annie Blanchard
Francophone Male Artist of the Year
Patrick Norman
Male Singer of the Year – Other Languages
Matt Lang
Female Singer of the Year – Other Languages
Brittany Kennell
Breakthrough Artist of the Year
Les Gars du Nord
Live Show of the Year
Si on y allait – La tournée d’adieu
Patrick Norman
Promoter of the Year
Festival Country Lotbinière
Radio Show of the Year
Cormier Hot Franco hosted by Stéphane Cormier
TV Show of the Year
Destination Country hosted by Katia Daraîche
People’s Choice Award
Sandrine Hébert