Paris Fête de la Musique 2012 aka I want to rock and roll all night and have a wonderful time

Thibaut (the French way of writing "Tebow!") and Etienne rocking out. 

The weather in Paris has been super crappy lately... slightly rainy, overcast, and way too cold for June. So I am hoping that the Summer Solstice this Thursday will bring lots of good music and good weather. Well, I can be guaranteed half of that at least! Since 1982, France has held the "Fête de la Musique" (literally, "music festival") on the longest day of the year, promoting, as a play on words, "Faites de la Musique," (literally, "make music"). It's basically a music festival/party where professional and amateur artists perform all over the city. Some perform in bars/cafes/clubs, some perform on the streets. There are performances everywhere in Paris (and has extended to other parts of the world too!) And the best part is that it is free.

The concept was originally conceived by the Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, based off of the Nietzsche quote "Sans musique, la vie serait une erreur" (without music, life would be a mistake). I just love the idea that the whole city is in a large festival together.  My friend from Brazil says its her favorite day of the year in Paris because it reminds her of Carnivale.

Last year, I just came back from Rome with Marisa and Priya on the day of the fête. At the time I had no idea what was going on, and was tired from vacationing (I lead a hard life). But we were able to enjoy the music in the streets making its way through our apartment window as we were cooking dinner. So I am eager to enjoy the festivities this time... even if it looks like it will be raining.

I hear the best way to enjoy the day is to choose an area and just walk around. And it seems walking is the best type of transportation anyways because roads will be blocked (difficult for buses and taxis) and metros will probably be very crowded. All types of music genres will be playing, including jazz, rock, classical, indie, etc. I've heard that the different areas of Paris are usually known for specific types of music, for example Republique is good to hear rock songs and Palais Royal is good for classical.

As the French proverb goes, "La musique adoucit les moeurs!" (roughly translated, Music softens attitudes/Music has charms to soothe the savage breast).