Laurie LeBlanc is cooking with gas on his new single and video The BBQ Dance — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Summer’s here, and the time is right for dancing with some meat! So Acadian country superstar LeBlanc is throwing on his apron and welcoming us all to the backyard with the English version of his paean to the immortal pleasures of a warm-weather pig-out.
As compelling a jingle for carnivorous consumption as you’ll ever hear, the song is like any great outdoor repast: tangy, expertly seasoned and giving off plenty of smoke. One listen, and it’ll be stuck in your head until fall comes, pulling you to your feet over and over again to dance with a rib in your hands and a big, greasy grin on your face:
“Bring out the ba-ba-ba-ba barbecue
It’s so good when it’s cooked on the grill
Steak and ribs, get a burger or two
Let’s do the ba-ba-ba-ba barbecue dance.”
Cultural fusion is just what LeBlanc has been aiming for since he started singing in two tongues. The BBQ Dance is the English version of La BBQ Dance, found on his eighth album Long Weekend — a double EP made up of six songs rendered in his native French and six in English. It’s the latest milestone for the New Brunswick country maverick, who’s been working bilingualism into his act since bursting onto the scene in 2010 with his debut La Pitoune. He swiftly became one of the most successful Francophone country music artists in eastern Canada, and his profile rose even higher with the 2020 release of his first English album, When It’s Right It’s Right, which was nominated for two East Coast Music Awards.
All along, he’s been racking up honours, with multiple nominations in the Canadian Francophone Country Gala awards, in categories ranging from Male Singer-Songwriter (2022) to Male Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year (2018) to People’s Choice (2017). In 2023, he received the 10th Annual Clément-Cormier Excellence Alumni Award from his alma mater, Bouctouche High School.
In total, LeBlanc has been nominated for 38 Canadian Francophone Country Gala Awards, 24 Music NB Awards, 22 Josie Music Awards, four East Coast Music Awards, three ADISQ awards and one Gala Trille Or. And he’s scored four No. 1 hits on the Canadian Indie Country Countdown. Now he’s aiming for a new title: King of the cookout. And even better, he’s willing to share it with all of us.
Watch the video for BBQ Dance above, listen to more from Laurie LeBlanc below, and get fired up on his website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
