Catherine Dagenais

Some artists wait to catch the latest popular fad to attain fame and glory; others would rather occupy the leading edge of their art and provoke change.

That’s the case for Catherine Dagenais, 20-year-old musician, singer, lyricist and songwriter, who has never lacked initiative and creativity.

Catherine Dagenais

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This young lady follows in the footsteps Godfather of Soul, James Brown, in that she produces her own concerts, records her own works, and owns her own master recordings. She does it all: she’s a shrewd entrepreneur. Following this independent path has forged her into a truly well-rounded artist.

This autonomous maverick has overcome adversity. She’s been forced to come up with some resourceful solutions to problems along the way. She’s never at a loss for new ideas. Like the time during one poorly-attended concert she got her friends and acquaintances to show up at a “$5 a head party”, so she could at least pay her expenses.

With her business acumen, it’s no wonder she is an active and popular participant at music industry conferences. She gives classes and talks on producing your own music, and on boosting the artist’s self-esteem. A hard-headed realist, she lets her students know you can’t do it all on your own. No one can excel in all spheres; but you can do everything you turn your hand at in a professional manner.

At the tender young age of 16, Catherine Dagenais showed a truckload of maturity and ambition when, on her own, she staged her first solo concert. Paying expenses out of her own pocket, she performed in her school’s auditorium. She really had very little idea of what she was doing, but she obviously liked the whole experience, as she’s repeated this star turn every year since.

Catherine completed an intensive high school musical theatre program. And in front of live audiences, she’s perfected both her interpretive style and her body language – two talents she uses to stand out from the crowd.

Catherine seizes every opportunity to shine. She entered the Secondaire en Spectacle (high school musical) contest as a lyricist-songwriter-interpreter. She got to the provincial finals 3 years in a row. Thanks to this success, she recorded her work in studio and performed at a series of concerts.

This is no shrinking violet – since then, she’s entered 6 other contests! Gare à la relève; Festival en chanson des Laurentides; Musiqualité; Les Talents de la St-Jean… She’s made it to the finals of CÉGEP en spectacle as well as the Étoile montante Ford (Ford Rising Star) contest at the FrancoFolies de Montréal.

Catherine counts a rich array of French-language music among her earliest influences. She’s a natural at singing the works of great Paris crooners like Charles Aznavour and Jacques Brel.

Later on in life, she was electrified by the soulful stylings of Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Jackson 5, among others. She interprets these artists with a style all her own. She also puts her unique hallmark on the works of contemporary Québec artists like Pascale Picard and Ariane Moffat.

Her eclectic show mixes French chansons with soul, jazz, R’n’B… An exceptional artist just waiting to be discovered by you at the Bistro le Ste-Cath!