Parvis Desjardins de l'Église Saint-Roch, August 28
BY Daniel SylvesterPublished Aug 31, 2026
In its ninth year, St‑Roch XP turned Quebec City's Lower Town into a walkable performance space, with live sets running throughout the neighbourhood's streets, cafés, venues and even a grocery store.
After playing two sets on Thursday (August 27) and lining up another for Friday night (August 28), Halifax emo quartet Customer Service helped open the second evening of the three‑day festival from one of its most beautiful spots: the front steps of the 100‑year‑old L'Église Saint‑Roch.
With three well‑received EPs, two on Toronto's Royal Mountain Records, vocalist‑guitarist Matt Cheverie already seemed loose and charming before the set, swapping the usual "check, check" soundcheck for their own interpretation of "Caroline Polachek."
Joined by guitarist Max Hayden, bassist Nick Adams, and drummer Owen Harris, the band kicked off the set with a new, unreleased track, "Keep Your Friends Close," showing off a tightly melodic and poppier sound for the band. Moving into "And It Feels" from 2025's to you, after 2000 years, Customer Service unveiled another new track, while Adams, taking centre stage on the church steps, bounced in place with the energy of an 11 p.m. rock‑club set.
Jokingly promising to now "just play the hits," Cheverie looked incredibly comfortable in front of the growing crowd, which unfortunately featured more curious Gen Xers than young fifth-generation emo fans. Struggling to tune their guitar and later breaking two strings during "I Vaped Again Last Night (And I'd Kill to Be in Love)," Cheverie vamped with the crowd, urging people to buy their merch to fund their 10-hour drive back to Nova Scotia, while self-deprecatingly showing off their French.
With Cheverie and Hayden delivering standout vocals on the blistering "This Is the Best Night of My Life" and "Working Hard or Riley Workman?," the band barely reacted to the steady stream of older visitors shuffling past with hands over their ears as they headed into the province's largest Catholic church's side entrance for a tour.
Closing the set off with "Picture Day," the only number they'd play from 2025's If You're Here, You Must Be Fine, and their 2024 debut single "Grad Day," Customer Service looked ready to win over the next wave of emo fans with their next batch of songs… and maybe even one of those churchgoers.
