Le Printemps de Bourges
The highlight of the year on the French music scene !
2011 edition : april 20 to 25
Each
year, the Spring Music Festival makes the music headlines for since its creation in 1977 it has
become a major event not only in France but throughout the rest of Europe, too.
This Festival is a mirror which reflects the tumultuous epic of musical trends and changes,
a unique laboratory where, during the past two decades, French music has undergone vast transformation,
families have divided, rock has made a triumphant entrance. Its power is hegemonic and its influence
regenerating.
A privileged witness of changes in society and in consumer habits, it has revealed the
explosion of sensibilities, the tribalisation of musical genres, the rhetoric of the rappers and
the triumph of new technologies.
The festivities explode from midday to dawn in ten concert halls which are adapted to every
type of music as to every type of public. The 60 or so concerts present over 200 artists. The venues,
for audiences of between 300 and 6500, are under cover and heated.
They are all in the vicinity of the town centre, with its stalls, bars, restaurants, attractions and three free outdoor stages where groups
perform all day long.
« Les Escapades du Printemps » takes you all over the surrouding area in british busses, to hear artists in great or unusual places and also discover local wines and gastronomy.
During
the Festival, which takes place during the French school holidays, the whole town is effervescent
: both day and night, it's time to have fun in the bars and the picturesque old town.
The ever-growing public is composed essentially of young people (91% are under 35), and over 200 000 people attend the festival each year.
Music professionals (more than 600 each year) are also faithful participants : they discover and select young talent
or stars from France or elsewhere who will be billed for the musical season and the summer festivals.
The Festival attracts the entertainment media specialists (press, radio, television) :
it is covered by over 500 French and foreign journalists.
Its success lies in the subtle balance of French and international stars, established artists
and little or unknown performers. It is a unique combination of innovation and memorable high spots.
Le Printemps dans la ville
During 6 days, the festival spreads all over the town, through a partnership between the Printemps de Bourges organization and about fourty bars and fifteen restaurants. Multitude of artists play all night long, in a highly festive mood
Nearly 3000 artists have taken part so far.
Who
could forget, for example, the Nashville Festival with Jerry Lee Lewis and Emmy Lou Harris, the
homage to Charles Trénet, the meeting between the USA and URSS, the co-billings with Mitchell
and Halliday or Barbara and Depardieu ? ....
Or the evenings spent with Charles Aznavour, Chet Baker, Alain Bashung, Joan Baez, Alpha
Blondy, Phil Collins, The Communards, The Cure, Johnny Clegg, Joe Cocker, Def Leppard, Willy DeVille,
Everything But The Girl, Léo Ferré, Boy George, Gilberto Gil, Nina Hagen, Ben Harper,
PJ Harvey, Jacques Higelin, Lloyd Cole, Iron Maiden, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Patricia Kass, Level
42, MC Solaar, Midnight Oil, Yves Montand, Les Négresses Vertes, The Pogues, Iggy Pop, Public
Ennemy, The Ramones, Lou Reed, Rita Mitsouko, Alain Souchon, Sting, Yma Sumac, Steel Pulse, The
Stranglers, Talk Talk, Tears for Fears, Therapy, UB 40, U2, Barry White, Stevie Wonder, Franck Zappa, and more recently Dionysos, Placebo, Massive Attack, Cassius ou Aaron….....to name but a few
The Printemps network
Active all year long, the 40 or so regional, European or overseas representatives of this Association
search for new talent.
The young musicians they select then perform at La Hune and La Soute during the
Festival. The Association also trains and assists the groups in many different ways, which include
interregional tours, international exchanges and the recent creation of the " New Discoveries
Label " , whose first recordings are distributed by EMI France.
http://www.reseau-printemps.com
In today's complex universe of rock and music from all over the world, the Printemps de Bourges relates, in its own special way, the story of music in evolution, its trends, its multiple facets and its universal appeal.