Next Saturday will be the annual Fête de la Musique all over the country. From the smallest villages to the biggest cities in France, organized events share the space with spontaneous pop-up celebrations among neighbors to “make the party” as they might say here. One year we happened to be in Bordeaux on June 21. From our vacation rental balcony we could look to the left (photo in this paragraph) and see revelers spilling out of restaurants and bars, filling the street and to our right where a dozen apartment dwellers were beckoning us to join them on the sidewalk below where they had set up a DJ booth and a table top bar. Guess where we ended up?

Here’s what was going on in Carcassonne: three areas of the city are usually set up as hubs, each with a different style of music that seems to fit the location. The mairie, town hall, is in an 18th century mansion where classical music would be right at home. Up in the medieval walled city, diners at the restaurants surrounding Place Marcou are already used to listening to jazz on warm summer evenings. Closer to our house we had the choice of a members’ jam at our own jazz club or a mix of pop, rock, reggae, and blues in the center of town at Place Carnot. From there, the pedestrian street tempted some shop owners to demonstrate their musical talents in front of their stores. One thing in common for all of these events is that they are free to everyone who cares to listen, or even join in!

From what I saw in our newspaper, the evening in one of the nearby villages would resemble another event from just a few weeks ago, La Fête des Voisins. The neighbors, les voisins, line a street with tables and chairs and invite everyone to bring a dish to share. This time, however, you’re encouraged to also bring a musical instrument to make the evening even livelier. Another village was having a “running of the bull”—just one, it’s a small place. If you’re in a larger city there would be a wider choice, of course. In Nîmes, for example, they have a list of 17 spots around town including an outdoor movie showing of the sing-along version of Mamma Mia. 🎵How can I resist you? 🎵

Interestingly, an American is credited with coming up with the idea for this celebration. In the 1970s Joel Cohen was working for French National Radio and thought that a day of music on June 21, the first day of summer, would be a great kick off for the season. It became so popular that in 1982 the French government adopted it as a countrywide festival. Typically the music starts at 7:00 PM but at the wine bar of our friends in Belvès, the show begins at lunchtime. That’s our kind of party 🥳

Part of the motto of France is fraternité that often gets paired with another word that probably doesn’t need translation, solidarité. This is one night of the year that’s a perfect example of how people from all walks of life and with diverse opinions on many topics can come together with the same goal: dancing in the street!

Photo notes: The banner across the top is from Carcassonne’s office of tourism and Bill took the 2 photos in Bordeaux. The others are all © Ville de Carcassonne – Julien Roche, thank you.