Remarkable Sounds: André Labonté

André Labonté playing the accordion

Among André Labonté’s many maternal relatives, music was central to family life. Introduced to the accordion at a very young age, he quickly fell in love with the instrument. As he explains in this interview, he would tear the accordion out of his uncle’s hands and try to play it. He even wanted to skip school so he could spend all day practising!

Listen to André Labonté on how he started out:

Listen to the interview (FR) with transcript (EN).

Labonté’s mother recognized his gift and bought him his first accordion. She was an accomplished accordionist herself, and gave him his first lessons. By the time he reached his teens, he was already playing at dance parties in the community! Labonté has many fond memories of performing on weekends at the Montmagny Inn. Not that he ever really stopped. You can still catch him playing the odd reel, waltz or quadrille.

Colour photograph of André Labonté, performing on an outdoor stage. He is sitting on a chair, wearing a cardigan and a tie, as he plays the accordion. Behind him, a few letters of the word “Carrefour” are visible.

André Labonté, 1996

André Labonté performing “Le p’tit bal à l’huile” by Marcel Messervier. Learn more.

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