Fête de la Musique, France

Held every June 21 nationwide, the Fête de la Musique, or Music Festival, is practically a national holiday. From morning to, well, the next morning, From Paris to Perpignan and everywhere in between, you can barely pass a street corner without hearing music, whether live or being spun by a DJ.

There are huge concerts by the leading names in rock. There are wrinkled old men playing accordions outside cafés. Cool jazz singers with a bass accompaniment. String quartets. Traditional French folk music. Enough reggae to shame Jamaica. And, of course, food and wine are available from bars, cafés and restaurants that have tables set outside their premises.

The big cities have more to do and see during Fête de la Musique, while the smaller towns have a stronger mix of traditional and modern music. If you have the chance to be in France on this day, you have to take part in this wonderful celebration of the start of summer, the joy of music, and the pride of a nation.

For more information, visit the official site:

http://www.fete-musique.net/

http://goparis.about.com/od/events/p/Fete_Musique.htm

Related videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W7pdMaVOXY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W52cGkd1NA

Festival de Nîmes, France

The Nîmes Arena is the best preserved amphitheater of the Roman era. Throughout the centuries it has seen action as a Roman theater, a fortress, a chapel, a bullring, and since 1997, as the venue for an epic series of summer concerts.

 Festival de Nimes takes place throught the entire month of July and attracts the likes of Metallica, Placebo, Noir Désir, Ben Harper, David Bowie, The Cure, Compay Segundo, Depeche Mode and Rammstein to its ancient stage. Musicians feel how special the venue is and it tends to shine through in the performance. 

This year we’ll see everyone from Supertramp to Sting to Santana, and dozens more. The big shows are in the fantastic Arènes de Nîmes, a Roman-era coliseum that is still in use today; check out Metallica’s most recent concert DVD to get a load of what an evocative venue it is. Catching your favorite band echo off the Roman stone is a memory that will last a lifetime.


For more information, visit the official site:
http://www.festivaldenimes.com/


Related videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l8blaF1VyU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV2gcPFwLow