On Saturday throughout the larger towns and cities in France all you could hear was music. From reggae, to local folk bands to hard-core heavy metal it was the day where many streets were closed off and a variety of choons were blasted out as part of the annual and free Fete de la Musique.
I hadn’t experienced this before and on such a warm lovely day the thought of wandering the streets hearing unknown bands stopping off every so often to wet our whistle sounded a perfect way to spend Summer solstice.
We started the evening off with a curry sat outside (is it me or does food taste better when you are stuffing your face in the sun?) as an Irish folk band strummed away. Then we headed deeper into the busy streets of Rouen, which you already know is one of my fave cities in France, where roads were closed and hundreds of people spilled out of cafes, bars and restaurants literally dancing in the street.
I have been to a few festivals before but never experienced anything like this. The atmosphere was electric with a mix of too-cool-for-school teens, families and groups of friends all mixed together letting the music work its magic. It was great seeing people from all walks of life getting into the spirit of things. All of the musicians perform for free and it seems like all you need is a a bit of kit and an electricity supply to set up your own mini group!From a trio of soul singers huddled outside a hairdressers to a large big band taking up stage in a city park everyone with any musical talent (and a few without) wanted to be part of the day.
Walking through the beautiful winding streets our ears were hit by a wall of sound that changed genre, tempo and style on every corner. I particularly liked the old aged pensioner band not too far up the street from the headbanging rockers!
There was such a great party atmosphere that you couldn’t help but shimmy shake along to whatever your ears picked up. I do have to apologise for the iphone photos as I stupidly didn’t pack my camera….blogger fail. I hope you all had a fab weekend?
