Avis de Grand Frais

The Avis de Grand Frais, a group of musicians and singers was born from a celebration of cod fishing back in 2001

The beautiful adventure of Avis de Grand Frais began on an evening of the Cod Festival at the port of Binic, in the bay of Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany). Spontaneously, some friends decide to go from terrace to terrace to communicate their joie de vivre and the pleasure of singing. We didn’t know much about it then, but the idea sprouted: why not a group?, says Yves Le Souder, still at the helm today.

The crew grew up, recruited talented musicians and got to work. Rehearsals are going well and success is there. Since the beginning of the trip, some sailors have, unfortunately, left the ship but other talented sailors have boarded, including Christian Biré, guitarist of François Budet, and Michel Toutous, violinist of the group BF15.

“A happy bunch of friends”

But there is no question of changing the spirit of the group. We sing for fun and we are above all a happy group of friends. We also care a lot about sharing: every year, Avis de Grand Frais makes a donation to the SNSM and associations, “explains René Lorre, musician. And, he says, we differentiate ourselves from classical groups thanks to our own repertoire. Indeed, Hugo Lobuard writes texts and Nicolas Thomas makes the arrangements for them. This is the personal touch of the group.

Avis de Grand Frais has established a partnership for about ten years, with Tricots Saint-James. It was through this means that the musicians met a choir from Blankenberg, Belgium, the home of Les Tricots Saint-James. After this meeting, the group formed a close bond with the Shantykoor group and have since shared several concerts.

As at July 2024 the group has produced the following recordings:

• Escales
• En Concert
• Vent de Large
• Chansons Salées
• Chants de Marins

[The MMDI team has not identified an online portal to purchase these albums as of 22 July 2024.]