It’s the biggest music festival you never heard of: the Vieilles Charrues. As America has Coachella and the UK has Glastonbury, so France has the Vieilles Charrues. And aside from being the largest festival in France, it is also the most ironic.
First off, it’s not French. It’s Breton—and if you never heard the term, it’ll be one of many. Jutting out of France’s northwest is Brittany, a region whose identity is entirely different from the rest of the country. The language, Brezhoneg, is Celtic, closer to Welsh and Irish than it is to French or German. The native name for the land is Breizh, pronounced a little bit like “breeze.”
Secondly, the Vieilles Charrues is in Carhaix (“ka-RAY”), a town so small and remote even the Bretons call it the middle of nowhere. So how did this wonder that pulls in the likes of Beck, Motorhead, Bruce Springsteen, and Black Uhuru into the hinterland come to be?
The Vieilles Charrues is a true example of a snowball effect: in 1992, a bunch of beer-buddies in Carhaix successfully put together a small music festival in a bid to bring business to the town and promote Breton music. It would have remained a small, local hightlight had not somebody got ambitious — and persistent — and managed, in 1997, to snag none other than the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. It’s been off to the races ever since.
And as then, the Vieilles Charrues sticks close to its music-for-all origin by keeping the tickets cheap (around $50). When you go, give a thank-you to one of the officials running the thing; they are doing it strictly gratis. The money raised by the event goes back to Brittany, helping to fund new infrastructure and restore its heritage.
Kicking off July 16, 2015’s roster is particularly dazzling: Joan Baez, David Guetta, Welsh power-singer Tom Jones, Lionel Richie, and the Chemical Brothers are all on tap, along with native Breton artists. But with a line-up like that, it goes without saying the tickets fly off the shelf, and inns and B&Bs of itty-bitty Carhaix fill fast. Thanks to the festival, this tiny town goes from a population of 8,000 to 208,000 in a DAY. But if you don’t mind camping, just bring a tent and set up shop in the free camping grounds. FYI, each year is themed; “Alice in Wonderland” gets the star treatment this year, so have fun with the cosplay.
For more information, go to vieillescharrues.asso.fr/2015 (French language only!) and brittanytourism.com.
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