VAERO

Born in the heart of the Canadian prairies and raised in a small village surrounded by endless fields, VAERO (Véronique Poulin) discovered the piano at a young age and picked up the violin at 10. She studied under Rebecca Vopni and later with Ed Minevich at the University of Regina, developing a unique musical voice where folk and classical influences blended seamlessly on her RC300 looper. She later embraced indie folk rock with Young Benjamins before reconnecting with Ableton, shaping a sound reminiscent of an imagined collaboration between Agnes Obel, Florence and the Machine, and Billie Eilish.

A Chant’Ouest laureate (2008) and Prix Mercure recipient, she began composing and writing early on, crafting a sound where lush harmonies and bold textures take center stage. 

Her first self-promoted EP, Les cordes de mon cœur (2010), resonated with both Francophone and Anglophone audiences across Canada, blending folk and acoustic jazz. In 2012, she was named Best Instrumentalist in Saskatoon by Planet S. That same year, she joined Young Benjamins an alternative folk band that performed in Canada, the UK and parts of Europe until 2017, where she continued to tour throughout Canada and moved to Montreal. In 2019, her EP Le Nœud won the Trille Or for Best EP and was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award. When the pandemic hit she was drawn back to her prairie town where she inhabited the cultural landscape until 2022. She returned to Montreal and gave birth to a daughter with her partner and drummer from Brazil, Raphael Poletti.

Over the years, VAERO has crafted an immersive, hybrid sound, intertwining her ethereal yet raw voice with violin, piano, guitar, effect pedals, and Ableton machines, creating a sonic signature that is both delicate and powerful. Her music is a dialogue between the organic and the electronic, between the breath of a bow and the pulse of a synth. Each song is a canvas of emotions, a balancing act between nostalgia and the future, stronghold and release, loss and renewal.

Her introspective and quiet soft-spoken presence has led her to perform at events such as Festival International de la Chanson de Granby, Festival de Tadoussac, Festival de Petite-Vallée, Phoque Off, Vue sur la Relève, Festival du Voyageur, MoSo Fest, Regina Folk Fest, and Place des Arts in Montreal.

Since then, she has shared the stage with Ponteix, Lisa LeBlanc, Royal Canoe, Shawn Jobin, Klô Pelgag, and Anique Granger. She is currently a musician for Eadsé and has also toured with Sarah Farthing and Beau Nectar. Now based in Montreal, she is working on her upcoming releases and entrepreneurial ventures.