Saint-Lambert Days 2024 : Another Successful Show on Center Stage

On Saturday, August 23, 2025, the South Shore a cappella Chorus (aka South Shore Saints), for the second year in a row, had a splendid time singing on center stage at the Fêtes de Saint-Lambert. Our repertoire included many iconic tunes spanning nearly a century from 1918 (After You've Gone) to 2016 (Ça va), including Pour un instant, the classic French hit by Harmonium.

We had arrived at about the same time as in 2024, around 5:30 pm. Curiously, we noticed that there was no live music playing this year, in contrast to last year when there were big bands and other performers playing just before our debut on center stage. It was then we realized that this year, we were going to be the center of attention.

A point worth noting is that singing a cappella can be tricky in an outdoor setting. Many factors, including the weather, a new venue, ambient noise, positioning and calibration of microphones, among others, can easily disrupt the unity of sound a chorus creates. This is because we always need to listen to our fellow singers to make our voices harmonize appropriately.

Thankfully, the weather was decent despite the intense humidity. We were also accustomed to the venue because we had performed on the same stage last year. In addition, the level of ambient noise was lower given the absence of any other musical groups competing for attention. Nevertheless, we faced one major challenge : we had to sing without mic-testing in advance, which required us to make some adjustments in our standing positions midway through our repertoire.

The most important thing, however, is that we were able to listen to each other. So, despite the sound not projecting sufficiently to the audience in the beginning, we were able to sing all our songs as an ensemble. We confirmed this from testimonies of audience members after the performance. I found this to be a testament of how important it is for an a cappella chorus to become accustomed to an outdoor venue.

We thank the organizers of this festival again for their support. We will discuss whether we can be provided with the means to have advance mic-testing next year. Next year, we hope to go one step further. As they say, third time's a charm !

For an account of our performance lin 2024, see here.