It’s that time of year again when the streets of Europe start to fill with the sound of music, as professional and amateur musicians of all ages and abilities celebrate the Fete de la Musique, on 21 June 2011.
With its origins in France (read more on the history), this annual festival marks the beginning of Summer and covers a wide variety of music styles, with bands playing free of charge to the public. Since the festival was first proposed by Maurice Fleuret and launched in 1982, numerous countries throughout Europe have "come on board", each marking the occasion with its own unique brand of talented musicians.
In Switzerland, each village, town or city has its own special way of celebrating the event – in Geneva, this year, concerts will run over 3 days between 17 and 19 June, while in Lausanne the event will be celebrated on just one day with over 125 concerts covering groove, jazz, metal, rock, classical and electronic music – to name but a few! In France, most towns celebrate on the day of the Summer solstice, 21 June.
Below is a just small selection of some of the most popular events in the region, with quick links to their programs so you can see for yourself the wide variety of concerts on offer. If you have a specific event to promote, please send us details and we’d be happy to post it on our Events Calendar for you!
GENEVAFriday 17 June – Sunday 19 June
0800 553 553
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Program Highlights
Street plan
To mark the 20th anniversary of the Fete de la Musique in Geneva, 20 street pianos will be dotted around the streets between 9 and 19 June. If you are a musician, or even if you’ve never touched a musical instrument in your life, you are invited to sit back and play any of the pianos, which will be marked with the words "Jouez, je suis à vous". This project was inspired by the UK artist, Luke Jerram.
If the pianos don’t inspire you, then just head on down to Geneva between 17 and 19 June, to listen to some great bands, many of which you will be able to watch outside as you enjoy a cool drink at one of the pavement cafés. Click here to see some of the main attractions.
One of our favorite bands, Canettes Blues Band, will not be playing this year but some of the band members will! Look out for Simon and Steve performing at the Kiosque des Bastions, at 23h00 in the Bag Buster Blues Band. Wolfgang will also perform at midnight with the Big Bag Blues Band.
For a taste of jazz, head on down to the Promende St-Antoine to watch Jazzboulevard, who will be playing on Saturday 18 June from 20h15 to 21h00.
Country music lovers, on the other hand, may prefer to watch the Ackermans, who are on tour from Dallas, Texas, and will be playing at 18h00 at the Salle Communal on the Lawn, in Vernier on 19 June. Visit their website to see the full list of concerts they will be playing this Summer.
LAUSANNE
Tuesday 21 June
+41 (0) 21 315 22 14
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Official website
Download full program
Street plan
Taking place in Lausanne since 1995, the 17th edition of the Fete de la Musique includes a huge program of events including 125 concerts playing mostly in the evening, but with the occasional performance during the afternoon.
MORGES
Saturday, 18 June
+41 (0)21 801 32 33
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www.morges-tourisme.ch
Music to suit all tastes. Free entry. Snacks available.
• Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville : la journée musique populaire, jazzy et ethno, le soir Rock.
• Place du Casino : le matin Ecole Fa Perché, l’après-midi et le soir 100% Rock.
• Musée Forel : Musique classique
• Caveau de Couvaloup : Ecole Boullard Musique, styles divers.
VERSOIX
Saturday, 18 June from 10h00
Full Programme
La Place du Bourg, la rue des Boucheries and the Maison du Charron will be the focal points of the Fete de la Musique in Versoix.
DIVONNE-LES-BAINSTuesday, 21 June from 19h00
Program
A great evening of music, with numerous bands playing throughout the streets of Divonne. Lots of food and drink stalls. Plenty of different styles of music, with musicians of all ages including youth bands from the Ecole de Jazz de Divonne.
GEX
Tuesday 21 June
Numerous concerts throughout the evening. Click on the program link below to see some of the previous perfomances at the Fête de la Musique.
Program
And when the festival is all over, the music doesn’t stop there! Geneva continues with another 2 months of musical festivities, as it celebrates the Musique en Eté Festival, between 3 July and 19 August. With 16 classical concerts, 5 jazz concerts and 14 “musiques colorées” scheduled throughout the Summer, there should be something to suit everyone! Most events take place at the Parc la Grange and in the Cour de l’Hôtel de Ville.
Official website
Programme
