Yvan Vollé

Brief Biography

Musician, animator, songwriter and poet, Yvan Vollé accompanies his warm husky voice with guitar, ukulele, harmonica and piano. Creating music that is at the confluence of folk, underground and the singer-songwriter style, Yvan is a powerful artist you never forget once you have seen him live. He generously shares his musical gifts while revealing his personal history, maturity, and joie de vivre. This award winning artist has performed many times on Radio Canada (television and radio) and on university campuses and, luckily for us, this summer he is doing the festival circuit, including Mariposa, the Grande Dame of Folk Festivals.

ARTIST WEBSITE: yvanvolle.com

In childhood, the Rolling Stones and Beatles music of his brothers so influenced Yvan Vollé that he just had to get a guitar and, at the age of eight, his mother got him one. Since that day, his guitar and music has been an intimate part of his life. More than just a pastime, for Yvan it was a place of refuge where he could get more in touch with himself. Diagnosed as dyslexic and facing the sudden death of his mother (Christmas 1978), Yvan had a difficult adolescence. From these personal trials of youth rose a great passion for singing and music as a means of expression.

Yvan started out performing mainly in English, and it was only in 1995 that Yvan et les Voyous (Yvan and the Rogues) appeared on the scene, followed by a record and two videos.

Through music, Yvan met other artists who said he should dig deep within himself, reconnect with his roots, and create a style all his own. Yvan took that advice, spent some time traveling on his own and, in 1997 came his second recording, Triste À Paris. This record would receive a writer-composer award at the 2001 Gala de la chanson franco-ontarienne.

Yvan came back home and carved out a career based in Montréal, Ottawa and elsewhere in francophone Canada. He evolved musically, accompanied himself with new and talented musicians, and signed a national distribution agreement with a record label. A third album called Sans Question was well received for its diversity and fresh musical approach. It earned him a nomination in 2002 for best contemporary folk album (Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle at de la video) and numerous nominations at the Gala de la chanson franco-ontarienne in 2003.

Musically, Yvan is always on the move, even while taming-down to be a father to his son. This resulted in creating a new musical approach for himself, producing shows in 2006, 2008, and 2009 at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, and bringing immense joy to him and his son.

During the past six months, Yvan has performed many times on Radio Canada (television and radio) and on university campuses, and this summer he is doing the festival circuit, including Mariposa, the Grande Dame of Folk Festivals.

Musician, animator, songwriter and poet, Yvan Vollé accompanies his warm husky voice with guitar, ukulele, harmonica and piano. Creating music that is at the confluence of folk, underground and the singer-songwriter style, Yvan is a powerful artist you never forget once you have seen him live. Equally comfortable in English as in French, he generously shares his musical gifts while revealing his personal history, maturity, joie de vivre, and the great friendship he has with his band, the Rogues