Paris (AFP)

Mobile concerts, floating stage and a lot of digital: from Grenoble to Nantes, the Fête de la musique dimanche aims to be "corona-compatible" with artists reaching out to the public rather than the other way around.

This year's edition is marked by the coronavirus but also by a fatal anniversary: ​​the death a year ago of Steve Maia Caniço in Nantes during a controversial police operation at the end of an electro party.

Jack Lang, creator of the Fête de la Musique, dedicated the 2020 edition to the 24-year-old extracurricular presenter whose body was found in the Loire, while the news is marked by a mobilization against police violence.

"The death of this music lover (...) forever mourns the Fête de la musique. Steve is in my heart," said the former Minister of Culture in particular.

In Nantes, still marked by drama, playlists will be proposed by artists of the city on a web page of the town hall, while the inhabitants are called to perform in the evening on their balcony or window, in music or in song.

- "Carriage concerts" -

The live performance world has been hit hard by the pandemic and considers itself to be the "big loser" of the crisis. All over France, gatherings, and therefore concerts of more than 10 people on the public highway, are still prohibited and artists must show their imagination.

Jean-Michel Jarre set the tone by announcing that he would play live on Sunday "as an avatar, as in Matrix", in a virtual universe where he can be joined "by the avatars of spectators in total immersion, a world first.

At the Philharmonie de Paris, no augmented reality show, but the first recital with an audience since mid-March in the large Pierre Boulez hall (2,400 seats) with pianist Khatia Buniatishvili in front of a reduced class (800 people).

In the four corners of France, it is especially the idea of ​​mobile concerts which seduces.

In La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime), the municipality proposes to bring hip-hop sets, brass bands and concerts in horse-drawn carriages to different places to avoid crowds. Les Francofolies, canceled like the overwhelming majority of major summer festivals, will put music programming online.

In Bordeaux, the opera house also reconnects with the public who can attend a ballet class and two concerts in its Grand-Théâtre and in the auditorium.

Concert halls, bars and restaurants must not "exceed 105 dB (A)", that is to say the level "that one perceives in a discotheque", according to the municipality, which bans amps on terraces and beer taps outdoors .

- "On the balcony and in the wagon" -

Further south, in Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), five trucks will criss-cross the city for a musical marathon in the streets and on the internet.

The idea is also in the spotlight in the East: in Nancy, the party will take place "on the balcony and in a wagon", the little tourist train circulating in the streets of the center with musicians on board.

Designated "Unesco music creative city", Metz will also see DJs roaming its streets on floats to make the inhabitants dance in their apartments.

In Strasbourg, a "floating stage" with DJs and local groups will be installed on a boat that will sail on the Ill river, to set the mood on the quays. Ten sound-loaded cargo bikes will wander through neighborhoods and residents will be invited to sing or play percussion with the artists.

In Lyon, the Fête de la Musique is especially punctuated by bans, the ban on playing even hitting amateur musicians.

In the Alpine region, in Chambéry, six DJs will take turns in an empty space of the Lighthouse, the large concert and exhibition hall. But the public will be able to interact by filming themselves on Zoom and the images will be projected on giant screens, an idea that has become common since the theaters closed.

Despite the reopening of the rooms (from Monday in Ile-de-France), they must still respect social distancing with in particular the separation of spectators by a seat if they do not belong to the same group.

burs-ram / rh / gold

© 2020 AFP