Every summer, France is the scene of notorious festivals that bring together thousands of festival-goers. Among the most unmissable are the Francofolies and the Vieilles Charrues.
For more than 30 years, the Francofolies have made La Rochelle vibrate to the rhythms of good music. The festival was launched for the first time in 1985 under the leadership of Jean-Louis Foulquier and Philippe Friboulet. Today, it is directed by the Société des Francofolies with Gérard Lacroix, Gérard Pont and Frédéric Charpail. It is organized during the month of July in La Rochelle and aims to promote French and Francophone song and music. Since its creation, it has already received more than 1,000 artists and brings together on average up to 120,000 festival-goers each year. At each edition, more than 100 concerts organized on the 6 stages are offered. The Francofolies were a springboard that allowed many artists to make a name for themselves on the music scene, to name only Étienne Daho and Pauline Croze.
The great artists for their part continue to enjoy a privileged place within this festival, including Léo Ferré, Bernard Lavilliers or Jacques Higelin. A large majority of French artists (if not all) have already had the opportunity to unveil their talents at the Francofolies. This is notably the case of Zazie, Cœur de Pirate, Francis Cabrel, Soprano, Laurent Voulzy, Patricia Kaas, Marc Lavoine, Georges Moustaki, Yannick Noah and many others. The festival is not only for famous artists, but also serves as a showcase for emerging talent. Moreover, in parallel with the event, various actions are carried out to disseminate and promote French-speaking and French song. The Chantier des Francos, for example, was created to support and train young artists as they enter the music industry. Francos Educ meanwhile is a program designed to promote French song among the youngest.
It is quite simply considered one of the most important music festivals on the Old Continent. In more than 25 years of existence, this event has established itself in Europe through its rich, transgenerational and eclectic programming. It is organized in Carhaix-Plouger in the center of Finistère and is held in mid-July for 4 days. The festival is distinguished by its size since it welcomes nearly 200,000 festival-goers. The record was broken in 2017, where during these four days, 280,000 festival-goers attended. In a friendly spirit, the event highlights all kinds of artists from various backgrounds offering rock, French chanson, techno, Celtic music, hip-hop, world music... Its founder is Christian Troadec.
Les Vieilles Charrues was born somewhat by chance. Its story begins with a simple gathering organized in 1992 by a group of friends, including Christian Troadec. 500 people attended the party. The following year, the event opened up to the general public and from there began an incredible rise. Since then, the biggest names have come to Les Vieilles Charrues including Johnny Hallyday, Charles Aznavour, Lenny Kravitz, Ayo, Stromae, Eddy Mitchell, Scorpions, Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg, David Guetta, Bob Dylan and many more.
