Party for Paléo in centre of Nyon plus a mixture of old and new music at festival
- Catherine
- Apr 14, 2015
- 4 min read
Party for Paléo plus oldies and newies scheduled to play - by Jonas Parson
The line-up for the 40th edition of Paléo Festival was revealed in Nyon today by both Daniel Rossellat, the boss of Paléo and Jacques Monnier, head of programming. As Daniel Rossellat reflected, the 40th anniversary of a music festival is always a very special moment, especially since none of them knew the project would last this long - and is set out to last much longer! A 7th day has been added this year to the festival to celebrate it in style so with a series of big stars and musical legends, the 40th Paléo Festival will once again be a great week of music and celebration.
It will also be the occasion to thank Nyon and the surrounding area, with a big party in town on the 18th July. All the volunteer workers at Paléo will be the focus of a book specially edited for the festival called "Complices en Coulisses". There will be a special show on Friday 24th by Vincent Kucholl and Vincent Veillon, called "120 secondes presente le Paléo" which will look back on the history of the festival with the usual tongue in the cheek humour and audacity that the two Swiss satirists have become known for.
A day for memories: Musical legends on Saturday
The 40th anniversary milestone was the perfect excuse, explained Daniel Rossellat, to bring back some of the bands that have marked the history of the festival- and indeed, the history of music over the last 40 years. Saturday night is set out to be an evening of legends, with Robert Plant, Joan Baez and Patti Smith performing at l'Asse.
As Rossellat quite aptly put it, it will be a night for the older generations to see the bands that made the music of their youth, and for the younger generations, the perfect opportunity to see some of the most important bands of the 20th century.
Rossellat retold the story of Joan Baez's first concert at Paléo, in July 1982- they'd received a letter the year before asking if they would be interested if she came to Nyon (they were thrilled!), and when she did come, the Festival beat their own records, with over 22,000 people having bought tickets, and traffic jams all the way to Coppet and Gland (great news for Rossellat, less so for the police officer who was trying to keep things slightly organised)
Patti Smith will be performing the whole of her début album “Horses”, which came out exactly 40 years ago.
Continuing with the musical giants coming to Nyon this summer, Sting, Johny Hallyday and Veronique Sanson will be playing alongside younger bands such as Kings of Leon, the American rock sensation who are used to filling up stadiums, and will be playing one of their only two dates in Europe this summer, and Passenger- the stage name of English songwriter Michael Rosenberg - who's song “Let Her Go” topped the charts across the world - including here in Switzerland. He will be presenting his latest album, of which all the proceedings will go to UNICEF.
Nothing more need be said - a t-shirt said it all a couple of weeks ago- about Robbie William whose super-show will be opening the festival on Monday, this will most probably be an impressive moment. When it comes to regulars invitees of l'Asse (L'Asse is the name of the actual grounds of Paléo) they will make up one third of the line up this year- slightly more than the usual 1/4-3/4 ratio of the festival, due to anniversary nostalgia – Ben Harper will be back again with the freshly reformed Innocent Criminals, for another concert since his first concert in Nyon in 1994. Also back together after several solo projects are Angus and Julia Stone, another band favoured by Paléo, who, as Jacques Monnier explained, enjoy following the progress of some of the bands they invite to the festival.
Back with a new album, always reinventing his music, British dandy Charlie Winston will please the crowd for the second time this summer.
But all these known faces only account for a third of the bands who will be coming, and as usual, it is with all the small and relatively unknown bands that Paléo creates a solid line-up.
Among these, keep an eye out for the wild rhythms and funky beats of hip-hop band Alo Wala, with their electro-hip-hop, Feu! Chatterton and their poetic rock inspired by Bashung and Gainsbourg, Kate Tempest's energetic flow and the beautiful songs of Benjamin Clementine, young English songwriter whose talent was discovered in the Paris metro.
Photo above - courtesy Paléo - Alo Wala
As always, the Village du Monde is devoted to promoting the culture- both musical and culinary- of a certain area of the world. Showcasing traditional bands, but also and most of all- the newer generations of artists who are innovating on these traditions, so it is opening its doors to China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and their neighbouring countries this year. Always a perfect place to discover unknown gems, look out for the traditional Japanese drummers of the Tambours de Tokyo, the surprising Jambinai, who use traditional instruments for their very own brand of metal, the Mongolese mix of country and rock with overtone singing by Hanggai, or the solo performance of Wang Li, great specialist of the Jew's harp! The ticket office will open next Wednesday, 22nd April, at 12:00, online at paleo.ch, and in certain retail points. Get all the info and the full line-up here
Photo above - courtesy Paléo - Tambours de Tokyo.