The celebrated prince of the Saint-Prime/Saint-Félicien area, Fred Fortin stands out as an iconic figure among Quebec’s most raw and uncompromising songwriters. He emerged in 1996 with Joseph Antoine Frédéric Fortin Perron, a debut album that rapidly earned him critical success and a following of hardcore fans, who have been hanging on his every word for nearly six albums (without counting the ripping rock meanderings of Gros Mené).

After releasing the now legendary albums Le plancher des vaches (2000) and Planter le décor (2004), Fortin made it into the long list for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize with his fourth studio opus, Plastrer la lune (2009). The recording also received two GAMIQ awards for French Chanson Album of the Year as well as Singer-Songwriter of the Year. A rugged, honest poet and an unlikely bass player, Fortin never disappoints his audience, tirelessly touring the province as a one-man band. When abrasive, heavy-hitting rock is the only thing that will satisfy, Fortin gets his fix with Gros Mené, a now legendary group that allows him to unleash the savage beast within and indulge his politically incorrect urges. On the side, he has produced a handful of albums for other artists, including Thomas Fersen’s Trois petits tours in 2008. In 2011, Antoine Laprise made a brilliant documentary titled La bête volumineuse to celebrate Fortin’s journey and his influence on Quebec’s indie rock scene. The singer-songwriter also signed the score and sound design for the four seasons of the comedy show Les beaux malaises. In the fall of 2015, he covered the song “Fou de toi” on Pag revisité, an album paying tribute to Michel Pagliaro’s music.

In March 2016, Fred Fortin released his fifth album, Ultramarr, after a seven-year hiatus from his solo project. This surprising and much-anticipated comeback was met with wild enthusiasm throughout Quebec. The recording brought Fortin widespread acclaim and earned the ADISQ Félix awards for Singer-Songwriter of the Year, Album of the Year—Critic’s Choice, and Sound Recording and Mixing of the Year, in addition to being nominated for Rock Album of the Year. As if that wasn’t enough good news, iTunes Canada also selected Ultramarr as the best Francophone album of the country for that year.

In August 2019, Fred Fortin unexpectedly released his sixth studio effort, Microdose. The album, which took form spontaneously and suddenly, is like a window into a family portrait that was painted in big bold strokes. This is the offering of a one-man band who refuses to stop fooling around and who is afraid of being painted as a living legend, even with the big 5-0 looming ahead.