Christian French brings his first headlining tour to Le Ministère

Christian French is gearing up to hit the stage at Le Ministère on Sept. 11. Photos by Angela Kritikos

22-year-old Indiana singer-songwriter Christian French brings his alt-pop sound to Montreal 

Often times, an artist’s biggest dream is to travel around to different cities as the main act on a tour. For Indiana-born singer-songwriter Christian French, that dream is about to become a reality.

For the first time ever, the 22-year-old is going to be headlining his very own tour. After performing in various opening-slot shows on Quinn XCII and Chelsea Cutler’s latest tours, French’s “Bright Side of the Moon” tour is nearing its debut  on Sept. 4, in Michigan.

Set to hit Montreal’s Le Ministère on Sept.11, French couldn’t help but reminisce on some of the earlier parts of the journey that many often overlook when discussing artists and their success. For him, his latest tour is the product of all of the work that came before this, whether it be sleepless nights or awkward shows in front of not-so-stellar crowds.

Speaking with The Concordian, French credits his family with being the origin of much of his musical interest. His family always had music playing – a common thread amongst talented musicians and performers. His sister was a member of a successful band throughout his high school years, another thing he said boosted his understanding of the music industry and how things work in the competitive and sometimes inconsistent profession of a musician. Artists like John Mayer and Eric Clapton also had a heavy influence on him, as he admired their songwriting abilities and deep connection to their music.

He began dabbling in singing even before entering high school, posting acoustic covers of some of his favourite songs to SoundCloud, and teaching himself how to play the piano, his passion truly blossomed at Indiana University, where he studied pre-med, played on the school’s hockey team, and was a member of a fraternity.

“It was really difficult to manage at first, but like with anything, you get into a sort of routine that kind of normalizes everything,” said French. “I tried to keep a healthy balance and not burn out on any of the three, and I think that really helped me. Of course, there were a lot of nights where I didn’t sleep much, but I just knew what was important and what I had to get done every day to continue to elevate.”

Having that many responsibilities in university is demanding, to say the least. French continued to hone his musical skills, with the crucial support of a close group of friends. With their unwavering support from the start, he was able to push through the barrier of uncertainty and shyness that holds many talented musicians back from reaching that next level– one that gets them their very own cross-country tour.

“I’ve had a close group of friends that have been supporting me since I started making covers,” he said. “They didn’t know what to make of it at first, but after they saw me continue to pursue it, they knew how much I cared about it and were behind me. I was in a fraternity, and everyone in the fraternity supported my music, showing their friends across the country, and it allowed for a country-wide awareness a lot faster than it would have been if I wasn’t in college with supportive friends.”

French continued to balance a heavily-filled platter of responsibilities throughout university. Meanwhile, he was continuously uploading music to SoundCloud and was performing at small local venues. Then, he finally got his first big break. 22-year-old American singer and multi-instrumentalist Chelsea Cutler invited him on tour; this was proof that his hard work and perseverance had paid off.

As university students, many of us know what it feels like to have a lot of things to worry about on a day-to-day basis, whether it’s related to school, loved ones, hobbies, or passions. When asked if he had any advice to students going through similarly-demanding situations, French said one thing:

“Do not be scared to take a leap and follow a passion. It’s important to have a plan and to know what you’re going to do, but nothing is going to happen unless you take action. There is no better time to start than now.”

You can catch Christian French’s performance at Le Ministère on his BSOTM tour, on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 10 p.m.

Tickets available online here:

https://fanlink.to/CFMontrealPresale

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