La Fête de la Musique (The Festival of Music) is a lively street music event that is held annually in Paris on June 21 (to coincide with the summer solstice) and is one of the year's most popular events in the City of Light.

During the festival, which first took place in 1982, hundreds of musicians of all genres and ages - professionals and amateurs - gather in the streets, bars and cafés of the French capital to give free performances of everything from jazz and rock, to hip-hop and electronica. The name of the festival was also chosen because its sound in French is a homonym for faites de la musique, which literally means "make music!"

Under the guiding principle of "the music everywhere and the concert nowhere," in 1985 Fête de la Musique stretched its wings and was exported throughout the whole of Europe (that year was proclaimed the European Year of Music by the European Parliament). And in the 15 years since then, the festival has taken place in more than 350 cities in 110 countries.

National occasion

Although the European dimension of the festival remains the most visible one, the "Fête" has also taken root in San Francisco, New York, and Manila, and is almost considered a national occasion in many African countries, as well as in Brazil and Colombia.

With the cooperation of the Shanghai Municipal Culture Bureau and the Consulate General of France in Shanghai, Fête de la Musique was launched in the city in 2010 on the occasion of the France National Day at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

During last year's Fête de la Musique, free concerts took place in more than 20 venues around town, and featured 150 artists. According to organizers, more than 200 volunteers contributed to making the event a success.

This year the festival will take place on June 23 and 24, in 16 venues around the city.

The opening concert will be staged at 800 Show (800 Changde Road) at 4 pm on June 23. Two bands from France and several local bands in Shanghai will be appearing including Plastiscines, a French all-girl rock band who perform mainly in English. They achieved fame when their single "Bitch" was played in an episode of the American series Gossip Girl.

Also on the bill are French electro rock duo, Silvouplay, a guitarist and pianist who got together in 2004.

Among the several local bands appearing are Plastic Chocolate, and Black New New, a Shanghai-based rap band, whose mascot is a chimpanzee, symbolizing the members' concern for the environment.

One of the most popular new rock bands in Shanghai, Monkey Shine, will also be playing.

According to Florence Pan, PR manager for the cultural department of the Consulate General of France in Shanghai, one of the highlights of this year's festival will be the several local dance groups performing at various concerts.

Mutual interaction

One of these performances is "Qi Dance," devised by French-native Marceau Chenault and Ken Wen, a Chinese qigong teacher. Chenault explained to the Global Times that Qi Dance is a combination of the traditional Chinese martial art known as qigong, and Western-style contemporary dance. "Unlike traditional Chinese martial arts, Qi Dance is not about individual training, but emphasizes the mutual interaction between partners. It also emphasizes a form of qi, or life force which implies a state of balance between the mind and body," he said. The performance will take place at the Minsheng Art Museum on Huaihai Road West at 6:30 pm on Sunday, June 24.

Nan Nan is an independent Shanghai-based dancer and together with another local artist, Yin Yi, they will give an experimental performance which combines modern dance with multimedia. They will perform at 3 pm on June 24 at the Rockbund Art Museum on Yuanmingyuan Road.

Pan told the Global Times that Fête de la Musique is "like a showcase for expressing new artistic trends." "The Festival displays its constant capacity to reinvent itself. Ingenious and vivacious, built on institutions, yet choosing - like music itself - to live its life in the streets, the festival is carried along by the people who bring it to life," she said.

For a detailed scheduling program, please visit

http://www.faguowenhua.com/arts-et-culture/musique/ (in French and Chinese only)