Particularly honored in August 2024 at the World Acadian Congress, Sylvie Boulianne has become, in Acadia, one of the most promising singer-songwriters of her generation. Originally from Meteghan Centre (Baie Sainte-Marie), Nova Scotia, Sylvie now lives in Moncton, New Brunswick. She became known to the general public in April 2023, when her first six-song mini-album entitled Desfois c’est moi was released. Her supreme award came from the New Brunswick music community, which awarded her the 2023 Song of the Year Award for her title track Desfois c’est moi.

Where does Sylvie Boulianne come from? His triumphant arrival on the music scene is the result of a long personal maturation and multiple influences. The presentation of her mini-album provides a perfect illustration of this: “Born from a fusion of traditional Acadian music, folk and pop that inspire Sylvie, this show takes you from the waves and the salty wind of Baie Sainte-Marie to the warm and vibrant summer evenings of Montreal.” From his life experience, the thirty-year-old artist has drawn his own texts that plunge us “into resilience, self-discovery and the meanders of love”. What is striking about this daughter and sister of musicians is her very beautiful and assertive soprano voice, which we know is largely the result of a solid university musical training…

Her musical journey

Let’s go back ten years earlier, to 2014. Sylvie has just obtained a Bachelor of Music (Classical Singing) from the Université de Moncton. But Sylvie does not want to continue classical singing. Passionate about singing since childhood, encouraged by her musician family (her father is the singer-songwriter Patrice Boulianne known as Blue), she dreams of making her own musical career. That said, you have to make a good living. Sylvie worked various jobs in Montreal, while starting to write her songs. In 2019 and 2020, she chose to train online in graphic design techniques at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières, then became a freelance graphic designer. Sylvie is at a turning point in her life. Should she pursue a musical activity in parallel, knowing that she does not dare to reveal her own compositions in broad daylight?

In reality, Sylvie hesitates to sing and write her songs with her particular accent from Baie Sainte-Marie. An example? The sounds “ain” or “en” translate as “onne” in words like matonne (matin) or rionne (rien). It is true that Sylvie lacks a female musical reference in Nova Scotia where she feels very lonely. However, in 2021, the click finally happened. Multi-instrumentalist Jacques Blinn, a Sylvie’s friend, has just opened his recording studio in Baie Sainte-Marie. He invited Sylvie to record the famous mini-album Desfois c’est moi. Two years later, during the launch show of the mini-album, Sylvie was accompanied by her whole family in music. By returning to her Acadian roots, in the comfort of her family, she had truly dared to launch her musical career. In fact, Sylvie is already preparing a new album. We can only wish this endearing artist a bright future.

Header photo: Sylvie Boulianne, by Amber d’Entremont.
Below: Sylvie Boulianne at the Musée national des Beaux-arts du Québec (photos courtesy of Agrume Agrume).

Jean-Marc Agator
Paris, France