Jean-Jacques Toux, programmer of Vieilles Charrues alongside his colleague Jeanne Rucet, is Emilie Mazoyer's guest.

He explains to his microphone how the festival has managed to maintain a new format this year.

Europe 1 lets you experience the Vieilles Charrues live every evening, from July 8 to 18.

INTERVIEW

The constraints, health, financial, artistic were so numerous this year that many festivals preferred to throw in the towel.

This is not the case with the Vieilles Charrues, which Europe 1, partner of the event, brings to you live with Emilie Mazoyer from July 8 to 18.

At his microphone, the programmer Jean-Jacques Toux (who officiates in a duo with Jeanne Rucet) details the obstacles that marked the road to the 2021 edition. And how the festival teams got around them.

>> Experience the Old Plows with Émilie Mazoyer on Europe 1 from July 8 to 18

"We really started the reflection at the very end of 2020", explains Jean-Jacques Toux.

However, the health and political context was not quite conducive to imagining a festival at the time.

But the Vieilles Charrues teams have all the same restarted the machine, after a forced break in 2020.

"By staying over four evenings, we weren't going to be very good in terms of frustration"

"We went from a little groundhog mode, where we had done nothing for many weeks, to a fairly dense activity", remembers the programmer.

"It gave us a lot of balm in our hearts, because we were in lack of work. And then, we wanted above all to talk about the artistic: we didn't talk about it much in the news of culture."

In this reflection was born a different formula of the Vieilles Charrues, to adapt to the sanitary gauges.

"Quite quickly, we said to ourselves that if we did three or four evenings with 5,000 spectators, we were not going to be very good in terms of frustration," says Jean-Jacques Toux.

"I think it was Jérôme Tréhorel, our director, who said to himself that ten evenings sounded good. And it started like that."

"The artists have all played the game quite remarkably"

The decision taken, the artists still had to accept.

Because a reduced gauge implies less revenue at the ticket office, bar and food stands.

This is so much less money that Les Vieilles Charrues could no longer put in the artists' fees.

"When you go from a 55,000 to 5,000 gauge, the producer expects a phone call from the Plows to talk about money. Quite honestly, it was done in a very natural way, with really a lot of understanding on the part. producers and artists ", rejoices the programmer.

"We thank them very much, because they all played the game in a rather remarkable way. The artists were so proud to project themselves, to have dates, and a date at Les Charrues. Everything was done superbly. . "

"We programmed for the first time artists that we had never seen on stage"

When you look at the program for Vieilles Charrues 2021, it is difficult not to notice the absence of international artists, who are regulars of the festival. "We wondered for a long time whether we should go anyway," admits Jean-Jacques Toux. "But we should not announce international artists to finally cancel them in May, June or July. In terms of frustration, we were all at the cleat."

The only international artist in this edition is Marina Satti, who performed on the Vieilles Charrues stage on Thursday, the opening night.

She was preceded by another singer, French but coming from even further afield: the Réunionese Maya Kamaty.

Two women out of the three artists scheduled that evening.

In total, female artists represent 40% of the Vieilles Charrues program.

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A figure for which the festival has nothing to be ashamed of, in comparison with other French festivals. And it is not a hazard. "It was really important that every day, we find female artists on the scene of the Vieilles Charrues. We had it in mind every day", confirms Jean-Jacques Toux.

The Vieilles Charrues program is also distinguished by its desire, despite a reduced version, to keep emerging artists.

A real bet, after long months without concerts.

For the first time, we programmed to discover artists that we had never seen on stage.

The previous year, it was absolutely unthinkable that we program young artists like that, without having seen them in concert before ", specifies the programmer." We trusted ourselves, as well as the producers. and turners. "

Radio Head, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney in 2022?

While this 2021 edition will end on July 18, Jean-Jacques Toux already has one foot in the preparation of the 2022 edition, which he hopes is as close as possible to a threat-free edition of Covid-19.

It will then be the 30 years of the festival.

"We are starting to project ourselves a little on the headliners of 2022. We are still at the beginning, but yes, it is launched", he affirms, before evoking the international artists that he would like to see come to Carhaix.

"I don't know if it's reasonable to think about it, but Radio Head, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney ... Daft Punk, unfortunately, it's complicated now. And we will find Celine Dion, it's 2023 . "