Marie-Véronique Bourque plays in the snow with her new single and video The Shovel Shuffle — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
With tinkling piano, passionate vocals, and fiery flute, this upbeat jazz gem from the Saskatchewan flutist and her band takes a lighthearted look at our real national winter pastime — while fantasizing about a life without it:
“Sometimes you wish you were born in Australia
Or in another warm place such as California
No fingers turning blue
No runny nose, no flu
No snow day stuck babysitting your sister
No winter coat to wear
No tuque flattening your hair
A bit of sunshine would be fair.”
“But wait, wait, wait, wait, wait
You’re gonna have to wait
Put your plans aside
Don’t look so mortified and just
Hustle, hustle, get your shovel
Get your shovel, it’s a snow day.”
The accompanying video pans back and forth between the band playing on a close, cozy stage and Marie-Véronique alone in a vast snowscape, shoveling away.
Bourque is a 2021 Trille Or and Saskatchewan Music Awards nominee, and a winner of the NFA 2021 Jazz Flute Big Band Competition. Her second album Entre Québec & Saskatchewan, released in 2021, and her debut album Une Porte S’ouvre, released in 2018, both landed on the Earshot National Jazz Charts and were voted the No. 5 Best Album of the Year (2018 and 2021). Born and raised in Québec, Bourque was awarded First Prizes in flute and chamber music from the Conservatoire de Musique de Québec. In 1992, she joined the RCMP Band. After it disbanded, she served as a police officer for more than 25 years.
Watch the video for The Shovel Shuffle above, listen to more from Marie-Véronique Bourque below, and shuffle over to her website and Facebook.
