Safia Nolin

Scène des Arbres, Montreal QC, July 29

Photo: Rick Clifford

BY Courtney Baird-LewPublished Jul 30, 2016

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Safia Nolin took to the stage with a fellow guitarist in tow, performing to a small but eager crowd at the intimate tree stage. Launching immediately into tracks off her debut album Limoilou, Nolin silenced the crowd with her haunting, powerhouse vocals; lyrics like "toute seule, j'menvais toute seule" reverberating through the trees in the mid-day sun.
 
Using her minimal setup to its full potential, Nolin allowed her emotionally heavy music to take centre stage, with a bit of awkward, endearing stage banter dispersed in between songs. However, as music festivals sometimes go, the band began to get drowned out by the electro-pop show happening at the Green Stage a few hundred yards away.
 
Joking about it briefly and asking if it Skrillex was performing, she moved through the rest of her short set with grace and ease. Ending with an extended, standing ovation, Nolin then launched into a surprise cover of Rihanna's "Work" on acoustic guitar; ending a gorgeous set in a fun way.

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