Freshly defined France seeks reinvented Music Festival

A "Corona-compatible" Music Festival. This is the watchword on June 21, when France is just emerging from the Covid-19 epidemic. Mobile concerts, floating stage and a lot of digital: from Grenoble to Nantes via Paris, the artists will meet the public, rather than the reverse.

The 2020 edition is also marked 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 .

I dedicate to #SteveMaiaCanico the #FeteDeLaMusique 2020. Since its creation, no violence had ever occurred during its unfolding. For the first time last year, a brutal and illegitimate intervention by the police broke this tradition. https://t.co/NjLyX57f22 pic.twitter.com/GcYrpxaHqx

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

Over the past year, the young man has become a symbol in Nantes, where the slogan "Justice for Steve" has resonated in several events. A white march brought together several hundred people in his homage.

A few minutes before the start of the silent walk for #SteveMaiaCanico at the foot of the castle in Nantes, a single sign that sets the tone: "justice for Steve" pic.twitter.com/ApmJGtKtOj

After reports from the General Inspectorate of the National Police and the General Inspectorate of Administration, three judicial information "against X" are investigated in Rennes. One for "manslaughter" concerning the death of Steve, the other for "endangering the life of others" concerning the police intervention and the third for violence on "person responsible for public authority" s 'acting of taking part of the police.

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.

Giant karaoke and virtual reality concert

Jack Lang, meanwhile, will be at the Institute of the Arab World which he now chairs. The IMA invites music lovers to participate in a large outdoor karaoke on the forecourt of the building. Three sessions with gauges to 400 people are organized during the afternoon and early evening. At the same time, DJ sets and musical performances will follow one another on the roof and will be broadcast on Arte.

The live performance world has been hit hard by the pandemic and considers itself to be the "big loser" of the crisis. Across France, the rule remains the ban on concerts of more than 10 people and artists must show imagination.

Jean-Michel Jarre set the tone by announcing that he was going to play live, 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 premiere.

See you later for #alonetogether.
9:15 pm CET for all details how to join vist https://t.co/aQqQEJImUT pic.twitter.com/jwWaqDIOiF

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

Floating stage and mobile concerts

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.

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 be "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, notably that of playing for 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.

With AFP

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