Quédam to Dissolve Following Departure of Guitarist Louis-Philippe St-Onge

The performance follows a launch event held Monday in Montreal as part of the Coup de cœur francophone festival.

The band’s dissolution follows the departure of guitarist Louis-Philippe St-Onge, the only other founding member alongside singer Pierrick Labonté. For Labonté, the exit of his long-time collaborator rendered the project untenable.

“I am the sole founding member remaining,” Labonté told La Tribune. “It doesn’t make much sense to me to stay in it. It’s a bit like dragging a bag of rocks to every music contract, every show, to keep alive a past that no longer really represents us.”

To preserve their legacy, the band is releasing a final, self-titled album featuring seven songs. Labonté views the record as a physical, lasting artifact of the group’s history. “These songs, we’ve been playing them for a very long time,” he said.

“It’s like a way to close that, to close the door, and to leave a physical copy, something living, of that memory, of what Quédam was.” The singer added that while the album is limited to seven tracks, the band members are “very proud of the result” of the chosen material.

Following the Sherbrooke show, the members will pursue separate paths. Labonté has no immediate plans for a solo project, citing a necessary period of personal transition and rest. His focus is shifting toward event organization and the promotion of Quebecois artists, including a collaboration with OUI Québec—a non-partisan organization advocating for Quebec independence—to produce monthly cabarets and discovery nights.

“What I’m concentrating on right now is more about finding other methods of distribution,” Labonté said. “I see myself more in the skin of an event organizer right now rather than looking to put myself forward.”

Labonté remains critical of the current state of the local music industry, specifically citing a need to improve the “discoverability” of Quebecois talent. He contends that audiences must change how they perceive local music to foster greater pride.

Regarding the band’s conclusion, he noted, “It’s like a renewal. We set the forest on fire, then we watch what mushrooms will grow, what will emerge from that. The blueberries, maybe too.”

The final Quédam performance begins at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, with local artist Mathieu Boudreau opening the set. For this last appearance, Labonté stated his goal is not necessarily to reach full capacity but to “fill the place with love, above all.”