Latest Release
- APR 25, 2024
- 13 Songs
- Pub Royal · 2024
- Les antipodes · 2019
- La grand-messe · 2004
- Les antipodes · 2019
- Break syndical · 2002
- Octobre · 2015
- L'expédition · 2008
- Les antipodes · 2019
- Pub Royal · 2024
- La grand-messe · 2004
Essential Albums
- Les Cowboys Fringants are a populist Quebec band that channels traditional music into gritty, punkish folk—like a northern answer to The Pogues. Singer Karl Tremblay's rapid-fire delivery is matched by the giddy energy of the rhythm section and the mandolin and fiddle leads. Though the French lyrics are often topical ("La Tete a Papineau" concerns the decay of Montreal's transit system), there's a rowdy side as well: "Heavy Metal," with sawing violins and a shout-along chorus, is about finding true love at a Cinderella concert.
- 2011
Music Videos
- 2024
- 2021
- 2020
- 2005
- 2004
- 2003
Artist Playlists
- This folk-rock group is a Québec institution.
Singles & EPs
About Les Cowboys Fringants
French-speaking Canadian folk-rockers Les Cowboys Fringants—loosely translated as The Frisky Cowboys—are pioneers of the politically charged Québécois neo-trad genre. ∙ The band’s 2002 breakout LP, Break Syndical, earned them international touring opportunities and a Juno Award nomination for Francophone Album of the Year. ∙ They won back-to-back Group of the Year honors at the 2003 and 2004 Félix Awards, which celebrate independent music in Quebec. ∙ With its poetic lyrics and alt-folk musiciality, the band’s 2008 LP, L’expedition, hit No. 2 on Billboard’s Canadian Albums chart. ∙ As part of the 2018 OSM Pop Series, the band played multiple shows in collaboration with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. ∙ In 2019, Cirque du Soleil picked the group’s music for their month-long tribute show, Joyeux Calvaire – A Tribute to Les Cowboys Fringants, crafting 18 remixes of their most popular songs.
- ORIGIN
- Repentigny, Quebec, Canada
- FORMED
- 1995
- GENRE
- Musique francophone