Folk Festivals in France

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 31 Jul 11 - 06:08 AM

We spent a month in France this June - not a great Festival month. But the thing that struck me was that around small towns and villages small music events were advertised with posters - aimed probably at people within 20 odd miles. I guess they are all well below the radar if google and organised locally and quickly

L in C#

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Folkiedave
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 07:19 PM

Sheffield City Morris have done a couple of these big DANCE Festivals in France. Be aware that you watch folk dancing. Great fun for the participants. Imagine Sidmouth when it had foreign dance teams and that is all there was.

Montoire (near Tours, Vendome) and Manosque (Provence) are the ones we did.

God we got so pissed at Montoire........

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Weasel
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 06:35 PM

Yes, Larry,the festival in Confolens was one of those to which I was referring. Another was in Murat in the Auvergne.

Cheers,

Weasel

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 01:13 PM

Thanks dave, I have PMd him just now

Cheers

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Folkiedave
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 09:44 AM

You might contact Dave Higham on this thread

Subject: RE: Yorkshire folk clubs 60's and 70's
From: Dave Higham - PM
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 07:57 PM

Dave lives in France

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST,Larry
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 09:14 AM

A dance festival in Charente/Limousin which is probably the sort of thing that Weasel was describing, but I thoroughly enjoy, is at Confolens. The date moves around a bit but is usually in August. By paying a couple of euros you get access to the inner town where lots of performances take part in the streets for a couple of hours every afternoon. The rest of the time there are performances in the arena. It is also very manageable if your French isn't great as there is quite a large ex-pat community in those parts (but otherwise it's a nice place!).

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Monique
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 08:49 AM

From Folkiedave's link January to March,

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 07:29 AM

Ok it's that time of year when we look at the map of France and try to spot a French Folk Festival.

Any new experiences? Any good places to go for French Folk music?

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Fidjit
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 05:09 PM

A friend sent me this update

Grand Bal de Europe update

I you like HOT dancing. Middle of summer in the middle of France. Can't get much hotter than that.

Chas

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Folkiedave
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 09:21 AM

This should help - it is fairly clear even if you are not a French speaker.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 05:07 AM

Yes, we have enjoyed quite a few of these types of events in Brittany and felt most welcome. I guess we would like to find similar events elsewhere in France.

Does anyone have similar experiences of small local "folk" events outside Brittany?

Cheers

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 04:16 PM

Can confirm that Breton Festou Noz are frequently a good bet. Lots of them are associated with "Pardons" which are celebrations of a church saints day. So you might get a church service followed by a procession with Breton dancers in traditional costume. The dancers are quite often bussed in from elsewhere.

We attended a small pardon near Pontivy which involved a procession to a spring. The little shrine over the spring featured a statue resembling Noggin the Nog - a huge bonfire was ignited and blessed by the priest (C of E it ain't). As it was the same week as the Tour de France, at the subsequent beanfeast there was a tableau featuring scarecrows done up in Lycra holding elderly bikes (and a dog show).

We also attended a huge pardon and fest noz near Auray where there were about ten lots of dancers, bombardes, binious, Gascons with very silly shoes, the lot! The fest noz in the evening featured more bombardes, binious and Le Sonerien Du, plus lots of assorted food and rotgut! Bliss.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST,Mr Red
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 11:15 AM

Grande Bal de l'Europe are you a dancer - or should thast be dancous?

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 15 Apr 09 - 02:35 PM

That could be really useful

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST,Leslie
Date: 15 Apr 09 - 01:12 PM

You might also check out the websites or myspace pages of your favorite French bands and see where they're playing this summer.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Apr 09 - 10:01 AM

There are indeed Festou Noz in Brittany every weekend in the summer. Just look out for the posters. Not all will be the pure drop of traditional music but all are fun, and the best are not really for tourists but for locals to have a good old dance.

If it is the pure drop you are after, why not try the competitions for musicians and dancers that take place in August leading up to the All-Brittany finals at the Chateau de Tronjoly, Gourin on 6 September?

A personal favourite is the Festival du Dans Plinn (a round dance specific to that specific area of Brittany). This takes place on 15 August in the charming spot of Danouet near Bourbriac. There are competitions of sonneurs de couple (the ultra- traditional Basse-Bretagne combination of bombarde and biniou) and also between dancers to see who can do the plinn best. It makes for a great day for anyone interested in Breton traditional music and there is a fab fest-noz in the evening.

Another similar festival, this time of the Dans Fisel, takes place later in the month at Rostrenen (usually around the 31 August).

Another great one is Gallesie en Fete at the end of June at Monterfil. More music and dancing, this time mostly of 'Haute', or east, Bretagne, the Gallo-speaking area. Also traditional sports and games.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST,Mr Red
Date: 14 Apr 09 - 09:26 AM

Try contacting Twm Twp. they are a ceilidh band with members living in Brittany. They would be aware of things Folkloritique.

And a damn find ceilidh band they are.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 14 Apr 09 - 05:02 AM

It's a different country, they do things differently there, erm, that's partly why we go

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: robinia
Date: 13 Apr 09 - 07:05 PM

Why Brittany?   Well, I was told that there was generally a Fest Noz going on in one village or another on almost any summer weekend. The difficulty was in finding it (not standard tourist info) and of course finding lodging, since small towns often don't have any for foreigners (I lucked out with the village convent and some wonderfully welcoming sisters).   
The Auvergne (Occitan country) was a much harder nut to crack . . .

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Weasel
Date: 13 Apr 09 - 04:58 PM

I don't dispute their skills, nor can I complain at the atmosphere in the towns where I attended those festivals - I had a great time, but they simply weren't what I was expecting and, not really what I wanted.
There were no English groups at any of the festivals I saw.

As always I can only speak of the ones I saw - they obviously won't all be the same - I believe there are a couple (a few) up in Brittany which come nearer to what I see at British festivals.

Like the blues festival in Cognac - the atmosphere in town is magic and they are a great bunch of people, but I'd be happier with a different kind of music! :-)



Cheers,

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Folkiedave
Date: 13 Apr 09 - 04:43 PM

There are several of them around and until I learned better I fell foul of a couple of them. They are the sanitized, colourful sickly-quaint national costume display events with formalized ethnic dancing which have little to do with what I recognise as folk music.

Sheffield City Morris have performed at a couple of these French festivals.

They are indeed as you describe - except the teams get paid generous travelling expenses, and are given the European food mountain to eat and wine lake to drink. The accommodation is often excellent and the interface between the teams in the background can be spectacular. (I especially remember a team from French Guiana whose idea of a rum punch was to pour high-proof rum in to a huge container and wave an orange at it). That was at a festival in Manosque - I think, it became a blur after a while.

I would take issue with the "formalised ethinic dancing" to a certain extent yes - but some of the teams we have seen have been superb with great musicinas all of whom were up for a session the minute the audience had gone. The East Europeans tend to be ex-state sponsored teams - but the South Americans we have performed with have been a great bunch.

And we got an invite to Ecuador out of one of them.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Weasel
Date: 13 Apr 09 - 02:27 PM

If anyone should happen to be going to the blues festival in Cognac this summer, let me know - I'll be on the campsite there all summer and eager to empty my fridge of beer.

Cheers,

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: matt milton
Date: 13 Apr 09 - 01:32 PM

There's a Country Rock festival in Berck (near Le Touquet in Pas de Calais/Normandy region) every July, which is fun. Although it's called the Country Rock festival you get a fair bit of bluegrass and old-timey as well as some blues thrown in.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 13 Apr 09 - 04:36 AM

Thanks Leslie, I'll Check them out

Les

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST,Leslie
Date: 12 Apr 09 - 09:17 PM

Les Volcaniques is a festival near Riom, north of Clermont-Ferrand, at the beginning of July. Check out the website of Les Brayauds.
The band La Chavanee has a festival at the end of July, in the Berry region in the centre.
Parthenay, in the Poitou region, also has a festival in late July.
Gennetines takes place in both July and August - mainly a participatory dance festival but lots of traditional music.
Saint-Chartier has moved to a new location, near the old.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 12 Apr 09 - 03:51 AM

Still looking

L & L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 06:48 AM

We have an number of possible routes taking us from Caen to the Lot and back.

Just one Festival sometime in June would be so good

Cheers
L & L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 06:15 AM

Still searching

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: bubblyrat
Date: 21 Jan 09 - 06:39 AM

I have the address for Marc Guilloux ,of the French Uilleann Pipers Society at "Mission Brettone",Longjuneau, Montparnasse,Paris (of all places) should anyone have leanings in that direction !!Actually,he is very good,and has played at the Herschel Arms in Slough !!

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jan 09 - 05:28 AM

There's a fairly sizable affair at Belfort, the FIMU (website somewhere . It's a free festival of Music by "University" Groups. Not a Folk Festival...but has World Music as well as Jazz, Rock and Orchestras

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Weasel
Date: 20 Jan 09 - 05:40 PM

By the way, do be careful - in France they have a thing which they call a folk-festival which bears little resemblance to what we (in England) call a folk festival.

There are several of them around and until I learned better I fell foul of a couple of them. They are the sanitized, colourful sickly-quaint national costume display events with formalized ethnic dancing which have little to do with what I recognise as folk music.

I suppose it's like going to a concert of "scottish folk music" expecting to see Dick Gaughan and finding Andy Stewart singing "Donald Where's your Troosers"

Cheers.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Weasel
Date: 20 Jan 09 - 05:33 PM

Not folk, but there is a blues festival in Cognac at the end of July. It arrives a couple of weeks after I do. I hate blues but the atmosphere in town is pretty good if you stick your fingers in your ears.

Cheers,

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 20 Jan 09 - 05:27 PM

Thanks Monique,

just watching a proramme about the new President, but I will return

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Monique
Date: 20 Jan 09 - 03:26 PM

You can find some data on Evene, on Le guide des festivals, both sites in French only. Some stuff in Limousin. Some concerts mentioned on the FAMDT site (Fédération des Associations de Musiques et Danses Traditionnelles)

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 20 Jan 09 - 02:34 PM

Ok Folks I started this up last September and thought it might be time to start digging around for Traditional French Music at festivals in France.

Any one got anything fresh?

Cheers

L in C

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Fidjit
Date: 11 Sep 08 - 02:37 PM

Thanks Monique

I've forwarded them to my friends. We'll certainly look some of them up next time I'm down there. Though Lord knows when that will be.


Chas

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Monique
Date: 11 Sep 08 - 10:45 AM

Here you can virtually travel by train through France and listen to sample of the country's different languages/cultures.

There's also a site that's a sort of traditional music hub showing LP's and CD's covers. Useful as a starting point to further investigation, but no recorded material.

A colleague of mine has a blog (in Occitan) where she posts YouTube stuff (hers and other's) Here is a link to her music posts.

Drinking G&T's by the pool... I'm not but could be (though I have no pool), Fall hasn't come yet, some days are still pretty hot:

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Fidjit
Date: 11 Sep 08 - 05:26 AM

Monique
Still by the pool drinking G&T's?

That helped !

Thanks

Chas

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 11 Sep 08 - 03:36 AM

Chas,

Sorry, don't know the location of any festivals in the Occitan, though Monique's fantastic link above (which is henceforth renamed as Spleen Cringe's French holiday planner) should 'elp. What I meant and didn't express very clearly was that I'd heard some great music (on CD) from that part of France.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: JHW
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 07:31 PM

Churchfitters are playing at Reeth Memorial Hall in beautiful Swaledale, North Yorkshire on Fri 26th Sept.

http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/reethmemorialhall/page3.phtml

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Monique
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 04:25 PM

Guys, if you go to this page and click on a region, you'll get the dates and places of any event they know about. The site is in French only.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Fidjit
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 03:20 PM

Where in Occitan?

Can you name them?

I have friends that have a house near Albi.

Chas

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 02:32 PM

We have much enjoyed Brittany, Fest Noz, Lorient, Port de Peche(?) and so on. The summer before last we stayed on a campsite in Coulon in the Venice Ver, I think it is called, the canal area inland from La Rochelle. Fantastic area for walking and cycling.

One evening a small French band, melodeons, fiddle, banjo, guitar I think, appeared at the site and played an evening of French country dances. People came from the local area and from the campsite. The dances were not called - most people clearly knew what to do. The music was excellent. We did not dance. When the dances were easy we were shy and later they were a bit too hard. It was a a brilliant night but a rare evnt I think.

We have been camping in France for around 30 years and this is the only one we have found by accident. How could we find more?

Cheers

Les in Chorlton

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: julian morbihan
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 01:01 PM

I live in southern Brittany.

At this time of year the Fest Noz (evening Breton dances) start in earnest but they are just local dances not festivals. Start at 9.00pm and finish between 01.00 and 02.00 am!

Towards the end of October there are a couple of small festivals round here - "Fruits d'Automne" at Peillac 18/19 Oct and Bogue d'Or at Redon 24-26 Oct (Bogue d'Or means the outer shell of the chestnut -not the entrance to the toilet!) Plenty of music and dancing at both of these and local crafts and masses of roasted chestnuts.

But for next May - July... As mentioned, the "InterCeltique" at Lorient - but it is huge (5000+ performers in the parade on the Sunday!) and, although there are many free events, the concerts, etc. are expensive. The Cheiftains are regular performers. The "Festival de Cornouaille" at Quimper is smaller and very much Breton based.

There aren't festivals like English folk festivals as such. In the holiday areas there are "initiations de danse" where they teach Breton dances and fest noz (evening dances) and fest deiz (daytime dances).

There are a number of huge rock festivals - definitely not like folk fstivals!

Whatever you choose you will receive a great welcome in Brittany.
Bonne Chance.

Julian

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 11:52 AM

Naturelement

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 10:37 AM

"There is plenty of good - and to these ears often better - folk music in other parts of France, especially from the Occitan. Just wondering, like..."

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ............ and warmer and often dryer down there?

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 10:11 AM

Some really helpful info on this thread - thanks to those supplying it. Just out of interest, though, why is everyone so focussed on Breton folk? There is plenty of good - and to these ears often better - folk music in other parts of France, especially from the Occitan. Just wondering, like...

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: GUEST,Sarah the Flute at Work
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 10:01 AM

Saw the Churchfitters at Fougeres this summer. You will probably find lots going on in the little villages - most seem to have a stage and the bigger towns have special days each week when they put on entertainment through the summer. Pick up a free tourist paper when you get there.

Also spent a day at the dance festival at Guincamp (Festival de St Loup) which has dancers from all over Brittany and beyond lots of music as well as dance - they have Soldat Louis every year. Trouble is it's always second week of August. End of July beginning of August is definitely the best time to go - also there is the Blue nets festival at Concarneau and also (although Normandy rather than Brittany) the traverses de Tatihou which is a music festival on Tatihou.

Hope that's helpful

Sarah

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 08:24 AM

Dave,

Churchfitters look a well organised and equipped group. I feel sure it will be a great night.

Subject: RE: Folk Festivals in France
From: Colin Randall
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 07:29 AM

"In which case you could try Quimper/Kemper. Much smaller than Lorient and with a higher proportion of Breton music. And the town's beautiful!"

             I admit that Lorient is hardly the prettiest of towns, though the festival does give it bags of colour and atmosphere, and it's always worth a trip out to the island - Saint-michel I think. I've been twice and thoroughly enjoyed both visits, especially for the more informal sets outside several of the cafes.