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NR13073

Back by popular demand, Franco-American singer-songwriter, Josée Vachon, returns to the St. John Valley to perform her traditional and contemporary Acadian folk music. The University of Maine at Fort Kent Foundation-sponsored annual fall performance will be held on Sunday, October 13 at 2 p.m. in the Fox Auditorium.

Well-known in communities throughout the Northeast, Josée Vachon has been making a name for herself for over twenty-five years. Born in Québec and raised in Maine, Vachon's traditional and original songs in French are performed with guitar, spoons, clogging, energy and charm. She has performed hundreds of traditional, educational, and holiday concerts for audiences of all ages.

Vachon's first performances at UMFK and at New England Franco-American festivals inspired her to document her Québec roots in original songs, as well as in popular and traditional songs from Canada. Her warm vocals, welcoming personality and increasing popularity among Francos led to an 11-year run hosting Bonjour!, the most widely seen French language cable TV show produced in the U.S., airing in markets from New Brunswick to Louisiana.

Vachon has recorded 12 solo albums in French, and two with Franco-American folk group Chanterelle, of which she is a founding member. The group released the CDs French in America and Soiree Chez Nous.

Vachon was recorded for a special on La Bolduc on Canada's History Channel, has a regional music clip on MicroSoft's AutoMap Trip Planner software, made Yankee Magazine's Top 40 Music picks (July 2001). Josée contributed an original song on Smithsonian Folkways' CD, Mademoiselle voulez-vous danser: Franco-American Music from the New England Borderlands, a Top Ten Folk Music CD pick from NPR in 1999.

Tickets are $10 each and are available through the UMFK Development Office or by calling the office at (207) 834-7800.