They did. The Vieilles Charrues, of which Europe 1 is a partner, made a big splash Thursday evening for the launch of their 2021 edition. They gathered 5,000 spectators, the maximum authorized capacity, who came to attend the concerts of Maya Kamaty, Marina Satti and Vianney. A real miracle, so much the Breton musical festival had to bet on the future by deciding at the beginning of the year to maintain itself, despite the health crisis. Two days before its opening, it is also against a raging weather that the Vieilles Charrues had to fight.
“When we saw the state of the site after the storm, we could have given up. But we had a duty to keep the Vieilles Charrues alive”, explains Jérôme Tréhorel, general manager of the festival. The town of Carhaix, where the Vieilles Charrues take place, was indeed affected by the storm that crossed Brittany overnight from Monday to Tuesday, with in places gusting winds of over 150km / h.
A first evening saved by the volunteers
The director general of the festival thus evokes “pieces of scenes gone” and “fallen trees”. One of the parking lots was also flooded, as was part of the site, in front of and around the stage. The first evening of the Vieilles Charrues could have been put in jeopardy.
But it is thanks to volunteers and service providers that the festival site was able to be put back into working order and the launch party maintained. Jean-Luc Martin, president of the Vielles Charrues association praised in this regard the “local skills” which made it possible to remove 70m³ of earth, and thus to secure the site and erase the traces of the storm. Only a still very muddy area, between the pit and the stands, was still inaccessible during the first evening of concerts.
“It does me a lot of good to find the energy of the festival”
“We must make dream all those who come”, insists Jean-Luc Martin. “Festival-goers must be able to come and party and escape from what they experience on a daily basis.” A goal that seems to be achieved when we sneak Thursday evening between the festival-goers massed standing and without a mask, as was authorized, in front of the stage.
“It’s really very cool to be able to come here this year, that the festival has struggled to maintain itself”, thanks Clémentine, six editions of Vieilles Charrues to her credit, who answers us between two dance steps on a song by Greek singer Marina Satti. “It does me a lot of good to be here, to find the energy of the festival! And even to be a little jostled sometimes: it’s part of this festive atmosphere!” Conquered, it has already taken its place for the following Tuesday, attracted by the day’s programming: Gaël Faye, Hervé and Yseult.
In the early evening, however, some festival-goers need to make their mark, before taking the plunge. This is the case with Guillaume, who attends concerts set back from the pit, a few meters from the stands. He came to the region for a professional event and attends his first edition of the Vieilles Charrues.
“I’m not used to seeing so many people anymore, I hesitate to keep the mask or not, to approach a little more”, he explains to us. “But it’s obviously super nice to be there and to find the concerts.”
“Thank you for standing in the storm”
The festival formula imposed by health restrictions (a single stage, three concerts per evening and 5,000 spectators maximum) allows the Vieilles Charrues to attract a new audience. Like Titouan, 6 years old. “We came to see Vianney, it’s his very first concert,” explains Katell, his mother, who has already come to the festival more than ten times. “I find that the conditions are ideal for the children this year: the party atmosphere is there, in a structure a little less gigantic.”
The impatience to find the fever of the festival was palpable this first evening in the public, as on stage. Vianney, who closed this opening night, also paid tribute to the Vieilles Charrues teams. “Until the end, they found solutions, thank you for having held out in the storm. And thank you, the public, for coming”, he declared between two songs, in front of a crowd who knew all his words by heart.
If you can’t make it to Carhaix this year, Émilie Mazoyer brings you the Vieilles Charrues live on Europe 1, throughout the festival, from July 8 to 18.
A health test done on site is enough
Despite a full first night, the Vieilles Charrues are not yet full. “Overall, we are less than 50% of tickets sold, but that’s okay”, explains Jérôme Tréhorel, general manager of Vieilles Charrues. For him, the main thing was not to relive a second year without a festival. “We are fully booked for the first night and the evening of July 16. And we have high hopes for the rest.”
Jérôme Tréhorel however deplores “a lack of pedagogy” which would create confusion among the public between the health pass that the festival requires (“and which remains free”, he recalls) and the vaccination passport. The Vieilles Charrues public can be satisfied with a saliva test or a negative antigen test of less than 48 hours to attend the concerts. Spectators even have the opportunity to be tested directly at the entrance to the festival.
>>Find here the complete program of Vieilles Charrues 2021
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