On a beautiful Wednesday evening in Montreal’s Parc La Fontaine, Dominique Fils-Aimé took the stage at Théâtre de Verdure and delivered a concert that felt more like a collective exhale than a performance. With her band behind her and a duck drifting across the pond in front of the stage (truly), the setting was as serene as the music itself.
By the time the show began just after 8 p.m., the venue was at capacity, with some unlucky stragglers turned away at the gates. Those who made it in were treated to a beautifully restrained 80-minute set that leaned into intimacy rather than spectacle. There were no flashy visuals, no dramatic lighting—just six exceptional musicians and Fils-Aimé’s spellbinding voice.
She sang with a kind of quiet command, using her hands to shape each note as though sculpting it in mid-air. Her vocals moved effortlessly between delicate whispers and soulful belts, drawing the audience into a slow, steady flow state. Songs bled into each other without abrupt transitions, creating an almost dreamlike continuity.
“Birds” was a personal standout. If you’ve been to an audio show recently, this song is hard to avoid! The live version stretched its wings a little wider, the band settling into a hypnotic groove that landed somewhere between neo-soul and spiritual jazz. The guitarist’s restrained solo added just enough grit to balance the featherlight delivery.
Throughout the set, Fils-Aimé spoke only in French—gracefully and often with a dry wit, judging by the regular waves of laughter from the mainly Francophone crowd. As a non-French speaker, I didn’t catch much of what she said, but her tone and timing made it clear that she was fully at ease, and the audience adored her.
The band deserves serious credit. They played with a looseness that never tipped into messiness, giving the music just enough unpredictability to keep things interesting. It felt rehearsed but never rigid. More like a thoughtful conversation than a recitation.
There were no encores, no big climaxes, no attempts to rouse a singalong. Just music that asked you to sit with it. And in that setting, under a canopy of trees with the occasional duck interlude, that was more than enough.
Dominique Fils-Aimé doesn’t perform at an audience—she invites you in. And on this particular night, about 2,000 of us gladly accepted.
Review & photos – Steve Gerrard
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