Music Day 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of this international event. Initiated in 1982 by Jack Lang, then Minister of Culture, to make play in public the 5 million amateur musicians that counted France at that time, it took off, becoming an essential manifestation of French cultural life.

To celebrate this anniversary, and within the framework of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Ministry of Culture proposes, at the Palais-Royal from 1 pm, an eclectic program. In the opening, the agents of the Ministry of Culture will appropriate the stage, followed by amateur and school musicians.

Following will be rapper Sopico, emerging name of urban music, Zaho de Sagazan and his electro songs with chiseled texts, and finally interpretations of works by Maurice Ravel and Camille Saint-Saëns by the choir The Metaboles, Marie Perbost and Nicolas Chesneau.

Anne Paceo, drummer, composer, and Julien Clerc, monument of French song, will perform, before leaving the stage to world music with DakhaBrakha, a group of Ukrainian musicians who combine traditional songs and current rhythms, and finally Temenik Electric and his transcendental Arabian Rock.

Complete programme of the Music Festival at the Palais Royal:

13h00-14h15: stage open to the agents of the Ministry of Culture: Agents have talent

14h35h-17h55: amateurs and schoolchildren 

  • 40 years of the French youth orchestra with Adèle Charvet, mezzo-soprano, conductor Julien Chauvin;
  • Association Orchestre à l'Ecole: orchestra at the Rueil-Malmaison school;
  • High school rock & jazz groups: Soulquake (Paris) and students of the Lycée Delacroix (Maisons-Alfort);
  • Two bands from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts strolling in the garden and on the Bury plateau.

17h55-00h15 

Young scene of contemporary music 

  • Sopico, rap/ urban music;
  • Sagazan Zaho, variety/song;

Classical music 

  • Chamber choir The Metaboles, direction Léo Warynski;
  • Marie Perbost, soprano and Nicolas Chesneau, piano;

Jazz and song

  • Anne Paceo, drummer/songwriter;
  • Julien Clerc, variety/ song;

World music 

  • DakhaBrakha, a group of Ukrainian musicians;
  • Temenik Electric, Arabian-rock band.

Registration link: https://shotgun.live/fr/events/40-ans-de-fetes-de-la-musique-refaites-de-la-musique

The Fête de la musique, a great free folk festival, is 40 years old

Since its creation by the Ministry of Culture in 1982, rural municipalities and small, medium and large cities of France have invested in making June 21 a privileged moment, an expression of musical life as a whole and a reflection of its permanent dynamism.

This edition gives the opportunity to return to the fundamentals of the Fête de la musique, to emphasize the principles that presided over its creation: a festive, popular and spontaneous event, which is open to all audiences and aims to highlight and promote amateur practices.

The free concerts, the support of SACEM, the media relay, the support of local authorities and the growing membership of the population have made the Fête de la musique one of the largest French cultural events in a few years. It mobilizes many actors (large amateur federations, local associations, music schools, conservatories, musical institutions, museums, municipalities, radios, televisions, concert halls, and even companies and hospitals) who organize their own concerts. 

The Fête de la musique has grown considerably by becoming a national event in several countries (Luxembourg, Italy, Greece, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, etc.) or by being carried by major cities such as New York, Berlin and Mexico City. By adapting to the cultural specificities of each country, the Fête de la musique was able to invent itself, reinvent itself, and become an emblematic international musical event. In 2017, more than 120 countries celebrated Music Day.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Ministry of Culture and the Make Music Alliance (which brings together many countries around music on June 21) teamed up to put a spotlight on the international project “Party Day” which will bring together 40 countries for 40 concerts paying tribute to the French repertoire, all styles combined.

Full Music Festival programming available HERE

For 20 years Crédit Mutuel has been giving the LA to music! For its 40th anniversary, the Fête de la musique receives the support of SACEM, Phenix Channels, Insert, Radio France, France Médias Monde, Gulli, Mediawan, 20 Minutes, Technikart, RATP, Bonbon, Madmoizelle