URBAN GUIDE

Come the first signs of summer, in the Camargue, the Alpilles and the Luberon, in Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Salon and Marseille, there’s music of all kinds in the air.

June
At the solstice weekend, 22-23 June, the very popular Fête de la Musique resounds in villages and urban neighbourhoods, and Andréa Ferréol welcomes us to Aix-en-Provence with her Flâneries d’art contemporain in some of the town’s secret gardens; meetings with authors, live shows and intimate concerts accompany the art exhibitions and installations. On 28 and 29 June, let’s all head to Miramas for an exotic night with the Nuits Métis in the idyllic lakeside setting of Parc Saint-Suspi. Two nights beneath the stars with a line-up that includes Moonlight Benjamin’s voodoo rock. Extra this year: in July, a travelling cabaret with performances in various places in the Marseille area.

July: festivals all over!
Andalusia comes visiting on 4-6 July for the hot-hot-hot Nuits Flamencas d’Aubagne, at the invitation of guitarist Juan Carmona, who has roots both here and down yonder. Flamenco ball, bodegas & tapas in the town centre, international stars of the genre, the clack of castanets and cries of olé!
Meanwhile on 5 July, the Delta Festival of DJ and electro music is happening in Salon de Provence; on 7-8 July it moves on to the Prado beaches in Marseille, with Bob Sinclar, Mandragora, NTO, Synapson and more.  Those same days you can nip over to Vitrolles, where the Charlie Jazz Festival is all abuzz in the park at the Fontblanche estate on 6, 7 and 8 July. On the bill are jazz masters such as Mulatu Astatke, famed pioneer of Ethio-jazz.
On 14 July, Les Suds à Arles invites us to dig the Latin vibe day and night, with musical siestas and aperitifs, flamenco displays, and headliners Angélique Kido, Roberto Fonseca and the great Gilberto Gil.
This year the Musicales du Luberon is celebrating womanhood. On 18 July, at the Théâtre des Carrières in Taillades, conductor Laurence Equilbey wields her baton for Mozart’s Requiem with soprano Hélène Carpentier and alto Guiseppina Bridelli. The 23rd is devoted to legendary women such as Alma Malher, Mel Bonis, Nadia Boulanger and Clara Schumann, with a tribute to Dora Maar, whose house still regularly hosts talks and concerts.
Also in the Vaucluse department, the Roman theatre in Vaison-la-Romaine hosts the famous Festival Vaison Danses, directed these days by Pierre-François Heuclin. Five shows are scheduled between 13 and 27 July, including Ballet Nice Méditerranée with Don Quichotte and Compagnie Jean-Claude Gallotta with My Ladies Rock. And finally, let’s make sure we get to Château de Florans between 19 July and 18 August for that Mecca of piano music, the Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron. Music lovers from all over the world flock to hear a succession of virtuosos. This year’s line-up includes Evgeny Kissin, Anne Queffélec, Boris Berezovsky, Grigory Sokolov, Nelson Freire, Arcadi Volodos and Nikolai Louganski. Some of the concerts are held in the cool cloisters of Silvacane Abbey and other nearby venues.