Being born into music is one thing but making it one’s life is quite another. A charming and nonchalant young man from Saint-Prime, Gab Bouchard grew up among some of Lac-Saint-Jean’s most heavy hitters, including his father, drummer Pierre Bouchard, whose name was immortalized in the title of Gros Mené’s first record and who played in a cover band with Noël Fortin (father to another famous musician from Saint-Prime who needs no introduction). He quickly turned to music, and after a few years of trial and error, released Cerveau-lent, a country-rock EP with pop leanings, in 2017. Buoyed by local success, he and his trademark mustache headed to Montreal to take things to the next level in the big city.

His first album, Triste pareil, borne of painstaking labour and heartbreak, was released just as the first lockdown took hold in 2020, and he was only able to celebrate its release with shows in Montreal and Quebec City. He didn’t lose any time building up a following, however, as his songs have since racked up over 2 million plays on streaming platforms, and the album was nominated for indie rock album of the year at the 2020 GAMIQ awards. This created demand for new material, which he devoted himself to writing over the past two years. While his music career was gathering steam, he also created the popular web series, Cool pareil, which dramatizes the making of Triste pareil. Inspired by the US version of The Office, Bouchard plays a loveable dimwit alongside Rémi-Pierre Paquin, who plays the role of producer Olivier Langevin, and David Savard, who plays recording engineer Pierre Girard. This lighthearted romp earned him a nomination for “Artist with the most buzz online” at the 2021 ADISQ awards, where he also participated in the gala’s opening sequence. Showbiz! Although forced to cancel his first round of shows, he was able to make it up with several festival appearances throughout the summer of 2021, and he’s already plotting a great tour for his most recent album.

The hotly anticipated second album Grafignes, released on August 26 2022, serves as a follow-up to Triste pareil. It’s a testament to the progress he’s made as an artist since then, having taken the time to carve out more space for himself as his new friendship with keyboardist Mathieu Quenneville flourished. The album explore themes that are at once “looser and psychologically heavier,” dealing with the feeling of being backed into a corner, looking inward, old acquaintances and memories that are just as old. Influenced by country music, big 70s rock riffs and soaring backup vocal.