Printemps de Bourges

The highlight of the year on the French music scene !

Each year, the Spring Music Festival makes the music headlines for since its creation in 1977 it has become a major event not only in France but throughout the rest of Europe, too.
This Festival is a mirror which reflects the tumultuous epic of musical trends and changes, a unique laboratory where, during the past two decades, French music has undergone vast transformation, families have divided, rock has made a triumphant entrance. Its power is hegemonic and its influence regenerating.
A privileged witness of changes in society and in consumer habits, it has revealed the explosion of sensibilities, the tribalisation of musical genres, the rhetoric of the rappers and the triumph of new technologies.
The festivities explode from midday to dawn in ten concert halls which are adapted to every type of music as to every type of public. The 60 or so concerts present over 200 artists. The venues, for audiences of between 300 and 6500, are under cover and heated.
They are all in the vicinity of the town centre, with its stalls, bars, restaurants, attractions and three free outdoor stages where groups perform all day long.

During the Festival, which takes place during the French school holidays, the whole town is effervescent : both day and night, it's time to have fun in the bars and the picturesque old town.
The ever-growing public is composed essentially of young people (91% are under 35), and over 200 000 people attend the festival each year.
Music professionals (more than 600 each year) are also faithful participants : they discover and select young talent or stars from France or elsewhere who will be billed for the musical season and the summer festivals.
The Festival attracts the entertainment media specialists (press, radio, television) : it is covered by over 500 French and foreign journalists.
Its success lies in the subtle balance of French and international stars, established artists and little or unknown performers. It is a unique combination of innovation and memorable high spots.

During 6 days, the festival spreads all over the town, through a partnership between the Printemps de Bourges organization and about fourty bars and fifteen restaurants. Multitude of artists play all night long, in a highly festive mood

The Printemps network

Active all year long, the 40 or so regional, European or overseas representatives of this Association search for new talent.
The young musicians they select then perform at La Hune and La Soute during the Festival. The Association also trains and assists the groups in many different ways, which include interregional tours, international exchanges and the recent creation of the " New Discoveries Label " , whose first recordings are distributed by EMI France.

http://www.reseau-printemps.com

In today's complex universe of rock and music from all over the world, the Printemps de Bourges relates, in its own special way, the story of music in evolution, its trends, its multiple facets and its universal appeal.

http://www.printemps-bourges.com