Let me first say that I’m a day late for a post with this title as the “Fête de la Musique” or World Music Day was yesterday. It’s a new event in my awareness but I learned that it’s a big deal in various parts of the world. It started in France but has since spread. The idea is for musicians to take to the streets on the summer solstice and perform. Both amateurs and professionals participate, and in some places it’s a huge event.

In Nantes yesterday, the main part of town was closed to traffic from 8:30pm-1:30am. Melinda and I decided to head into town to check out the festivities. We boarded the tram at our usual stop and were fortunate to get seats. By the time we approached the center of town the tram was packed. Everyone had to get off two stops short of the hub and walk the remaining distance, but that in itself was fun. We wandered around and saw dozens of musicians and bands getting warmed up. The crowd was immense, which surprised us for a Tuesday night. Beer was being sold on nearly every corner so most folks had a cup in hand. As the bands started to play we weren’t too impressed. But as we wandered further, we started getting into it a little more. There was the Irish punk band featuring a bagpipe player, and the two middle age women singing power pop in French. Great stuff.

We bumped into Christine & Bernard, who had come with Celeste and Claire. That’s Christine with the girls in this picture, waiting on their order of cotton candy or what the French call “barbe à papa” (daddy’s beard). Great name! Of course, Bernard put some on his face.