If there's one day each year in Paris when you can guarantee it will rain it's June 21st, the first day of summer and also the 'fête de la musique'. With all the rain we've had here recently though, perhaps this year will offer sunshine for once!
The original spirit of the event was just to give people the freedom to set up their equipment at random spots around the city and play the music of their choice, but over time - and this year the event is celebrating it's 30th birthday - it has been a little hijacked by event organisers and consumer brands.
This means that several of the larger events have moved indoors, including the now traditional end-of-Monumenta event at the Grand Palais. This will undoubtedly be spectacular, but the fact that tickets must be reserved in advance, and the fact that the music will in fact be a selection of recorded discs chosen by (admittedly excellent) DJs means that it breaks the spirit of the event a little for me.
The full programme around France can be found here, but my personal highlight starts today in a matter of hours. The Festival 36 heures is being held at the Saint Eustache church near Les Halles and involves - as the name suggests - 36 hours of rock, pop, folk, dance - and classical - concerts non-stop until Thursday night.
See here for more detials: http://36h-saint-eustache.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment