SOCAN member, actor and Loco Locass co-founder Sébastien Ricard received the 2010 Patriot of the Year Award in Quebec City on May 24 as part of the National Patriots’ Day celebrations. Each year, online voters choose the recipient of this award, which is presented by the Société nationale des Québécois et Québécoises de la Capitale. As part of the recent Quebec film honours in March, Ricard received the Jutra Award for best actor, for his stunning performance as the late iconic singer André “Dédé” Fortin in Dédé à travers les brumes.

A Quebec sovereignist, Ricard, a.k.a. Batlam, was one of the main forces behind the Moulin à paroles, a mammoth outdoor show presented last year on Quebec City’s Plains of Abraham as part of the 350th anniversary of the battle of the same name. Loco Locass was very much in the news recently thanks to the group’s crowd-pleasing anthem “Le But” ("The Goal") celebrating the Montreal Canadiens.