Barn Boys take their fun kitchen party to Festival du Voyageur

It has been a busy month for a band from La Broquerie, performing numerous shows during Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg. 

Miguel Sorin plays fiddle and mandolin for the Barn Boys. 

He says the musicians have only been together since October, starting out with jam sessions in a barn, followed by their first gig on December 15th in La Broquerie. 

That is when the phone started ringing as people were eager to get this French band to their events. 

Les Barn Boys is made up of Miguel Sorin (fiddle and mandolin), Luc Wrigley (singer, guitarist and fiddler), Aidan Wrigley (singer, guitarist and fiddler), Caleb Dorge (singer and guitarist), Mathieu Reimer (keyboard player and singer), Caleb Arnaud (the drummer), Sam Fournier (bass player). (Photo submitted)​​​​​

It did not take long for the Barn Boys to secure gigs for the special winter festival in Winnipeg. 

Sorin says performing at Festival is a new experience for every band member and they are really enjoying it. 

“We feed off the crowd energy, and it just makes us go out even wilder. We just love seeing the joy on everybody's face. Everybody's clapping their hands, singing along with us.” 

He says the young musicians have a lot of energy to begin with, so when the crowd matches that enthusiasm, it just grows. 

While they play a variety of genres, Sorin says their focus is mostly on folk, country and traditional music. 

“There’s a lot of fiddling, a lot of singing. It's a boy band so there's a lot of harmonies going on and that gets the crowd going.” 

When asked to describe a typical show, Sorin is quick to explain that it’s a lot like a kitchen party. 

“Everybody likes fiddle tunes; they like to have a good time and dance.” 

Sorin lists Alain-Francois from Quebec as one of his biggest musical influences. Francois is also a performer at this year’s Festival du Voyageur.