French singer Renaud will honor Karl Tremblay on stage: “I cried when I learned of his death”

PARIS | Saddened by the death of Karl Tremblay, Frenchman Renaud will pay tribute to the singer of Cowboys Fringants during his concerts in Quebec next spring.

“I cried when I heard of his death; I knew he was sick, I thought about him a lot. I have been listening to all the Cowboys Fringants albums over and over for several months,” confides Renaud.

It was he himself who broached the subject of the death of Karl Tremblay during a meeting organized with The newspaper in a cafe on 6^e district, in Paris. The singer of Cowboys Fringants died last Wednesday after a battle with prostate cancer.

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On Renaud’s shoulder

Renaud intends to honor his memory by grafting the piece On my shoulder on the program of his concerts planned in Quebec next spring. The icon of French song will arrive here after an absence of more than 15 years as part of his tour In my ropesstarted in France earlier this year.

It was during his last visit to La Belle Province, in 2007, that Renaud met Karl Tremblay and his gang. He then performed on the Plains at the Quebec Summer Festival, warming up the crowd before the Cowboys Fringants arrived on stage.

“I didn’t know their repertoire at the time, but I immediately loved this singer, he was a great guy. The lyrics, the music… everything about Cowboys Fringants’ songs touches me a lot. I even had my tickets to go see them in France next March,” says Renaud.

America cries… and France too

It is therefore not only America which has been crying since the announcement of the death of Karl Tremblay, the echoes spreading as far as France, where the Cowboys Fringants were initially scheduled to perform in 2024. Across the country, fans and peers bereaved flood social networks with testimonies and tributes, organizing gatherings in different public places.

Among these, singer Gauvain Sers turned to his Facebook and Instagram accounts to pay tribute to the Quebecer, the day after his death.

“I feel like a little piece of me has been taken away since last night. To have a hangover without having drunk a single drop […]. Karl was a beast of the stage. A voice that sends shivers through your body. He has gone to join the shooting stars, we already miss him but I’m willing to bet that he will put on the most beautiful show in singers’ paradise,” shared the Frenchman, to his approximately 225,000 subscribers.

• Singer Renaud will present his tour In my ropes in Montreal, Quebec, Gatineau, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and Trois-Rivières starting May 14.