Experiencing music in another country is a must-do for me. Music conveys many emotions and creates memories. I have heard the passionate beat from Cook Island drummers in Rarotonga, trekked through rice fields to listen to traditional Indonesian folk songs in Bali, camped at a 3-day music festival in a vineyard as the sun comes up in New Zealand and been chilled by a solo Irish harpist playing on a deserted riverbank in the United Kingdom.
Living in France exposes you to a wide range of music and whether your tastes range from huge stadium concerts, to intimate jazz bars, I highly recommend everyone enjoys a concert or musical event whilst living or visiting here.
My pick for this week is ‘Les Nuits Carrées’ held over 2 nights, Friday 29 June and Saturday 30 June – a relatively young festival held at the amphitheatre beside Fort Carré in Antibes. Les Nuits Carrées is an eco-festival of sorts; you purchase a reusable ‘happy cup’ when you arrive and refill it through the evening to recycle at the end. No discarded styrofoam cups or aluminium cans littering the ground here.
Les Nuits Carrées 2009 – eco-festival, Antibes
Even the toilets are eco-friendly; instead of those horrible smelly Portaloos with chemicals that are regular features at music festivals the toilets are constructed of chip-board and there are buckets of sawdust – yes, sawdust – to tip into the bowl afterwards. No smell and much more pleasant. There is always a wheelchair-accessible toilet with ramp. My tip: Take a small torch for later in the evening, the toilets have no lighting.
The festival billing showcases hip-hop, reggae, jazz, electro, funk and the setting is magic at the amphitheatre as the sun sets. The ground is flat (though can be stony) so the venue, refreshment areas and toilets are wheelchair accessible, though the amphitheatre obviously has graduated steps.
amphitheatre at Les Nuits Carrées 2010
Tickets are a bargain at 10€ per night or just 15€ for both nights. Visit the festival website for details on where to purchase tickets and the line-up for both nights www.nuitscarrees.com
Enjoy!
Access Riviera 