During the summer, you can enjoy France and its French music festivals. It is sunny, people are on holiday, and it is the perfect time to dance in France. I made a selection of different styles of French music festivals.
List of the Best French Music Festival
Let’s start this selection of the best French music festivals!
- Les Nuits Sonores
Outside of Europe, this French music festival would be considered an underground culture, the electro culture. Europe is to me, the place to be for electro music from Berlin to Amsterdam. This festival takes place for four days at the end of the month of May in Lyon (Not in summer sorry).
On their Facebook page, you can read “Nuits Sonores is a cultural, artistic, and urban laboratory that was born in Lyon in 2003”
It was created in 2003, and, the famous DJ Laurent Garnier was playing for the first edition and he keeps coming back every year to play a set. The French music festival takes place in the city, you can go during the day (You have to buy a ticket) to the renovated factory: La Sucrerie, located in the new design district of Confluence. Otherwise, you can buy tickets to go at night in warehouses: Fagor-Brandt. You can also enjoy some free concerts in the street all around Lyon. This is a great time to visit the city!
Read also: Events in Lyon: Do not Miss out!
- Hellfest Festival
This is the French music festival to go to if you are a heavy metal fan! This festival takes place in the little village of Clisson in the state of” Pays de la Loire” at the end of the month of June. This festival was created in 2002 by the name of Fury Fest and it was really complicated at the beginning. They had to move from town to town because different mayors refused to host the festival.
The Hellfest Festival was created in 2006. They only start to be profitable in 2007 and from there the Hellfest festival was a huge success in France. Some fun facts about the edition of 2019, the festival sold 440,000 liters of beer, and all the tickets were sold out in less than 24 hours. The festival went from 27 tickets sold in 2001 to 180,000 in 2018!
- Solidays
This festival takes place in Paris at the hippodrome of Parislongchamps. It was created in 1999 and the goal of this event was to raise money to help to cure the disease AIDS.
We can have all styles of music during this French festival. The artists coming to the French music event accept to be paid a little bit less than usual for their participation. It is now in France, one of the biggest French festivals with around 200,000 participants.
- Main Square
This French music festival takes place in the beautiful city of Arras in the North. You can enjoy the music beginning of July. The artists coming to this festival are mainstream but mainstream does not mean it is always bad music 🙂
- Electrobeach Music Festival
Need some sun, beach, and music? This French music festival is perfect for you! The Electrobeach Music Festival as known as EMF in France is an EDM French music festival that takes place on the Mediterranean coast in Barcarès. There are around 100,000 people coming to this festival during Bastille day (For 3 days).
- Les Vieilles Charrues
This French music festival takes place in Brittany in the town of Carhaix-Plouguer. It was created in 1992 and it is now the major music event in France with around 205,000 tickets sold. The line-up and the style are similar to the Main Square Festival. Artists like Petit Biscuit played there (Learn more about this French artist).
- Cabaret Vert
Located between Luxembourg and Belgium in the northeast of France, in Charleville Mezière. This French music festival takes place at the end of the month of August. This festival takes place right in the center of the city, you won’t need a car. The line-up is impressive with most of the main francophone artists like Orelsan or Angèle singing famous French songs. You can also listen to some prestigious international artists.
Here is a map of the French festivals:
I hope you like this selection of French music festivals and you will come to France and see how French people know how to party and dance 🙂 I invite you now to read the articles related to French music:
- 15 French Music Artists That You Need to Listen to Now
- Fête de la Musique: A Popular Musical Street Party
Photo Credit: Damien Payet