Fête de la musique June 21st - Paris street music fair

Fête de la musique June 21st - Paris street music fair

The 21st of June marks the beginning of summer or beginning of winter depending on which hemisphere you live in. (Just for your information, it is also world humanist day, go skateboarding day, New Hampshire day, father's day in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt.) For us Parisians and French people it has a great significance, it is the Fete de la Musique or Music day. The American musician Joel Cohen came up with the idea in 1976 of an all-night music celebration to mark the beginning of the summer solstice. We, the French, stole...I mean took the idea and made it a yearly event starting 1982. Many countries then followed suit and it is now celebrated in over 110 countries. Hundreds of musicians gather in the streets, bars, and cafes of Paris, giving free performances from jazz and rock to hip-hop and electronic music. We like to think that no other cities celebrate it the way we do! Fête de la Musique 2013 There are two ways to go around this day. Music starts in the evening. You can check the program and see what is of interest for you, or you can just wander around the streets and neighborhood, and fall on either great or bad musicians, professionals or amateurs. You don't really have a choice of not celebrating, as even if you stay in your house or hotel with the windows closed, chances are that you will still hear music! That is something that we have learned to accept! Just as a warning, it might be a bit difficult to navigate in the city by car or taxi as some streets are closed. Some metro lines are exceptionally opened until 5am. The theme of this year is La voix: the voice. A free application for your lovely iphone or Android is available. Check the program There is plenty of concerts happening next to our lovely boutique hotels, the Villa d'Estrées and the Résidence des Arts. Those are the concerts in the 6th district Enjoy!