On Sunday 6th November it's the Leman Expat Fair. Over 120 Swiss and international businesses and services with experience in serving the English-speaking community will be in one place under the same roof at the Beaulieu in Lausanne. Whether you have just arrived in Switzerland, or have been here for a while, these fairs are a great way of finding out what's available for expats in this part of Switzerland and they can give you a chance to meet others expats (and Swiss too of course !) Living in Nyon will have a stand at the fair (booth number 105) and will be selling copies of the book "Living along Lac Léman", so do come and say "hello". Check out the floor plan and list of exhibitors hereNew at the fair this year are presentations given throughout the day on a variety of topics such as; "The Tourist Highlights of Vaud" given by the Office du Tourisme Vaud. There will also be a presentation by Diccon Bewes, author of "Swiss Watching" and another entitled "Raising Cross Culture and Global Nomad Children" by Suellen Bonga of CWC Suisse. For children there will be a face painting stand, plus crepes and gaufres (waffles) will be served between 14:00 and 16:00. For adults there will be a DVD and book exhange. Bring your DVDs and book and take home new titles! There will also be a "green carpet" day-long putting initiation by Golf de Lavaux at the fair. Career Fair in same building on same day New this year at Beaulieu in association with International Link and CVIC (the Chamber Vaudoise of Commerce and Industry) there will be an International Career Fair in the same building. This is an opportunity for employers who are looking for talent to be at the fair and for those looking for employment to search out job possibilities. This fair will also run presentations throughout the day such as "Energise your job search through a fresh approach" to "All you really need to know to get a job in Switzerland". This career fair is aimed at international and local professionals and their spouses. Find out all about this Career Fair here Check out the full list of presentations during the day here How to get to the Beaulieu building by car and public transport here Check out the list of specials prepared for visitors to the expat fair hereReminder Book signing today November 4th at Nyon tourist office. There will be a "Living along Lac Léman " book signing today at Nyon tourist office between 16:00 and 18:00. Come and say "hello" and pick up a copy of the book for a birthday or Christmas present. Other eventsVide Grenier - A reminder that this Sunday 6th November the IWCN willhave a table top sale at the Salle Communale. in Dully from 10:00 – 15:00. Info: Anne-Marie Ramu Tél. 021 824 13 03. Bénéfices pour la Fondation Vaudoise “Le Cube de Verre”. Classical Guitar Concert on Sunday Another reminder that there will be classical guitar duet concert on Sunday 6th November at 17:00 at the COV (see previous post). Swiss Film to be shown in Nyon in presence of film maker Monday 7th November In collaboration with Visions du Réel and the Cinéma Capitale, the Swiss Film "Nel Giardino dei Suoni" will be shown on Monday 7th November in Nyon at 20.15 in the presence of the film maker. This film has been described as a "magnificent film" by Bernard Koellish of "Box Office". More on this event coming up on this site coming soon.

There will be a "spectacle" down at the The Bains de Trois Jetées on Saturday night at the "plage" of Nyon. The circus group "Makadam" will give a performance involving fire juggling, torches and acrobatics. Take a look at their site for an example of their artistry. Before the performance, the group "Van Hessche" will play blues on the terrace. Food and drink will be served at the buvette. The evening beginns at 19:00 Take a look at the Bains de Trois Jetées website for more info. Also, each Monday at 07:00 and Wednesday at 09:00, weather permitting there are yoga classes being held by the lakeside. Bring stretchy clothing or a swimsuit! For more info, see Bains de Trois Jetées or email Natalie Halt nataliehalt@gmail.com On July 21st there will also be a special yoga class called " Discover your inner rockstar" with renowned Yoga Expert Sadie Nardini to be held at the Usine a Gaz from 17:00- 19:00. Inside photo - courtesy Makadam

Paléo finished last night here in Nyon with a big firework display to end the 2011 edition. This year, the festival hit the 5 million spectator mark since the festival began in 1976. Photo above - Joaquin Diaz in concert in the Dome tent . Audio report summing up festival You can hear a summing up of the six days of Paléo by the Living in Nyon editor on this audio report entitled "Paléo bands paid tribute to Amy Winehouse" on World Radio Switzerland. Click here. There will be more photos and commentary of the Paléo festival on this site every day this week, plus coming soon - an interview with a festival employee. Event tomorrow night On Tuesday 26th July there will be another male trailing spouse event at Les Brasseurs Pub in Nyon at 20:00. This is a chance for male accompanying partners to meet and have a few beers together (see previous report). Note - the name of this group is under review, the search is on for a more suitable title! If you would like to attend this event, simply email cnp at bluewin.ch. Images of Paléo Below - the charismatic Lisa Kekauala, lead vocalist of the BellRays performing in the Club tent on Saturday night. Below - Paléo fan (with dad) watching soul singer Selah Sue in the Chapiteau tent. Below - Romantic dancing to Chucho Valdés in the Dome tent. Below - The "flying camera" with its eye on the crowd. Above - Shingai Shoniwa from the Noisettes performing in the Chapiteau on Saturday night Below - more young Paléo fans Below - Painting a frieze on a charity stand. All photos - C. Nelson-Pollard

The ground was wet underfoot, and there were lots of wellington boots and rain gear in evidence last night at Paléo, but it didn't dampen the spirits of the crowds, and fortunately the rain held off for most of the evening. The bands still continued to play in tents, on stages and across the festival grounds. "Patrice and the Superpowers" got the crowd warmed up at the start of the evening in the Chapiteau Tent. Near the end of the concert Patrice announced; "Today is a very special day- It's' special because you are all alive!" which brought a massive cheer from the crowd and got them dancing to pretty much the end of the set. Audio coverage of festival. Note if you want to hear an audio report of the first night and bit of the background to Paléo and Nyon listen to this report the Living in Nyon editor gave on World Radio Switzerland this morning the 20th July 2011. Photo above and below - "Patrice and the Superpowers" Bomba Estereo injected a latin modern rythmn in the Dôme which pleased the music lovers and her fans from Colombia (of which there were quite a few). There were big crowds for The National (apparantly this is Barack Obama's favourite band), and an even bigger crowd for Cali on the main stage in the early evening. When headline act Jack Johnson appeared on stage at 23:30 he received also received a massive welcome from his fans. Below - the crowd for Jack Johnson. Although the weather conditions weren't exactly summer-like he did bring a summer sound to the end of the evening. The Paléo organisers have waited over seven years to get Jack Johnson on their line up, let's hope they feel it was worth the wait. Photos below - More images of Paléo, the crowd on the new blue mattresses (see yesterday's post abut these new features). Also, photos of Florent Marchet performing in the Club tent and Pierre Omer in the Detour. All photos - Catherine Nelson-Pollard

Photo above - one of the cultural activities of Nyon's Bains de Trois Jetees association. Nyon's main beach, the "Plages de Trois Jetées", the "Plage de Promenthoux" in Prangins, and the "Plage de Céligny", have all made it into the list of "Most Beautiful Beaches in Swiss Romande" . This list, festured in the July 7th issue of "L'Hebdo", was compiled by the magazine itself and names over 40 beaches surrounding Lac Léman, Lac Neuchâtel, Lac de Morat, Lac de la Gruyére, Lac de Géronde, Lac de Joux, the Gouille du Duzillet, Lac Bienne and Lac Noir. Photo above - a view of Nyon from Prangins beach. Nyon beach The association of the "Bains de Trois Jetees "in Nyon, (see their website here) is highlighted for keeping the "Plages de Trois Jetées" area alive during the winter season with the installation of a temporary sauna and for arranging cultural activities for Nyon residents". The beach's changing rooms, showers and toilets and the famous raft in the water - a big attraction for children, also gets a mention. Prangins beach According to L'Hebdo, "the beach at the Plage de Promenthoux in Prangins gets two hours of more sunlight and the "bise" doesn't make it to this part of the lake". The beach is also praised for its electric platform for wheelchair users, it also mentions the stunning view from this beach. Céligny beach The beach at Céligny is mentioned for its "pretty port surrounded by flowers" and for its changing rooms. L'Hebdo likens it to "almost like being in the South of France", although it does say (slightly tongue in cheek), "until we see the inaccessible and private beaches belonging to some of the lakeside residents nearby and then we realise where we are". However it does goes on to say, "never mind, you can still just open a bottle of rosé, light one of the barbecues in the area and still feel like you are in the Mediterranean. Nyon station to get an upgrade Nyon railway station is one of the most busiest in the canton with around 15,000 users per day, therefore travellers will be pleased to know that the station is due to get an upgrade and this will take place in two phases beginning this autumn. The first phase is more of a facelift - refreshing the walls wth a coat of paint and adding an extra Postomat. In the second phase the public toilets will be modernised and the small supermarket Daily will be replaced by another commercial outlet. Even more upgrading is planned for the station and this will be announced before the end of the year, plans are currently being discussed by the council. Free outdoor music in Nyon each weekend until 14th August. The 1st July marked the start of "Rive Jazzy". This is the programme of free open air jazz concerts which take place in the summer in various open air venues around Nyon's old town and lake. Venues are the Fontaine de Maître Jacques, the Fontaine du Molard, and on the lakeside by the "O? les Terasses du Lac" (ex Café Latino). Photo above : the crowd listening to music near the Maitre Jacques fountain. Here's the programme for this weekend Friday 8th July at 20:00 "Atrio plus surprise guest" - (Modern Jazz ) at the Fontaine Maître Jacques Saturday 9th July at 20:00 "Macadam Jazz band" (Trad jazz) at the Fontaine du Molard (opposite the ferry embarcation point) Sunday 10th July at 19:30 " Thomas Winteler and his Jazz Serenaders" (Trad jazz) at the "O' Les Terasses du Lac" For the Rive Jazzy's full programme over the summer, see their website here.

Monday 1st August is Swiss National Day, and it will be celebrated right across the area tomorrow. Time to get out the bunting and the flags! For more details of the ceremonies and events planned where you live, either check the website of your local tourist office, take a look at your village noticeboard or last Friday's edition of La Côte newspaper. Below are the details of the celebrations planned for Nyon and Rolle. Happy Swiss National Day! Do you want to know the history of Swiss National Day? See the Wikipedia entry here. It's interesting to read that the biggest Swiss National Day celebrations that are held outside this country are held in Manhattan in New York! Swiss Info also provides some interesting information as to where and how the country's politicians are going to be celebrating tomorrow. My Switzerland.com also carries information of the 1st August celebrations across the country in English here. For other non Aug 1st events happening in Switzerland click on the "In any Event" link on this site on the right hand side bar. If you want to know more about the Swiss themselves and disocover more about this wonderful country, then do check out the excellent informative (and humorous book) called "Swiss Watching" by Diccon Bewes. This book was named as one of the "best books of 2010" by the Financial Times. Details here Finally, if you will be celebrating the 1st August tomorrow and you happen to take a good photo of the day whether it is of the people, food, ceremonies, or the fireworks, why not send Living in Nyon a photo and we will post the best photos on this site this week? Just email your photo to cnp at bluewin.ch Nyon - 1st August Venue - Esplanade des Marroniers (by the Roman Columns). In the case of rain, this will be held in the Salle Communale. 19:45 - Apéritif offered by the town of Nyon with the Fanfare (brassband) municipale 20:20 - Ringing of bells 20:25 - Presentation of official flags 20:30 - Official ceremony. Reading of the 1291 pact. Patriotic prayer. Allocution by Mr André Borschberg co founder of the Solar Impulse. Message from the pastor of Nyon churches. The ceremony then moves down to the place des Fête de Rive with the local population following. Children follow carrying paper lanterns. Down at the Fete de Rive from 16:00 onwards there will be a buvette and food and jazz from 19:00. 22:15 - Firework display over the lake. 01:00 End of the celebrations! Rolle Venue - Castle courtyard 18:30 - Official ceremony by the castle courtyard. 19:00 - Apéritif offered by the commune. 19:00 - Food, grillades, raclette, pâtisserie, crêpes. 21:30 - Release of balloons 22:00 - Défilé nautique 22:30 - Fireworks and fire on the lake! 23:00 - Free dancing!

Each July and August, the "Association Pleine Lune" (full moon" association) organises musical concerts in the lovely courtyard setting of Nyon's château. These concerts include performances of classic works, with new interpretations and new musical arrangements. This weekend there are three evenings on the agenda in the company of flautist, composer, arranger and musician Julien Monti. Friday August 5 20:30 "Bach in the East," Cantata 35 by JS Bach for solo viola with oriental colours, plus a string quartet and the voice of mezzo-soprano Brigitte Ravenel. Saturday - August 6 20:30 Rendezvous with Claude Thébert". Accompanied by improvisations from Julien Monti. Sunday - August 7 18:00 Ethno-Jazz Trio and a surprise guest. Julien Monti flute, Alain Tissot drums, Olivier Nussbaum bass and electric bass Thank you to the following readers who sent in their photos of the 1st August. The banner photo in this post is of a solitary Alphorn player in Oeschinensee above Kandersteg in the German speaking part of Switzerland. This was sent in by Diccon Bewes, author of the very popular book Swiss Watching. Check out his blog here. Photo below of children at a 1st August ceremony in Nyon, with soldiers in traditional dress and muskets! Photo sent in by Trish Thalman. Photos below - August 1st ceremony in Rolle by Catherine Nelson-Pollard

Photo above: The crowd watching Portishead. Each year Living in Nyon, features reviews from other writers who give their impression of Paléo. Last year Jonas Parson, the "barefoot writer", reviewed each evening's concerts. This year its the turn of a 20 year old Swiss/British student at the University of Geneva (studying for a degree in International Relations). He says he likes "all kind of music from The Gorillaz to Gonjasufi " and has been coming to the festival for many years, not only for the music, but for the atmosphere, to see friends and to have fun". His review is below. Note: The Living in Nyon editor gave an audio report to World Radio Switzerland on her take of last night's festival, including a review of Angus and Julia Stone, Portishead and the great concert of Los de Abajo, (see photos of this band in previous post). Plus, there are a few tips on how to avoid some of the long food queues, you can listen to the report here . Second Night of Paléo 2011 After quite a wet first day to Paléo this time my friends and I were a bit luckier with the weather as it didn’t actually rain much for most of the day, a few rays of sun could even be caught around with patches of bright blue sky that lifted everyone’s spirits even higher. Photo of festival goers in sunflower field Thank god for those wellies though, as the mud was worse than the previous day, offering some in our crowd a few laughs watching others slip around! Bonobo (a.k.a Simon Green from Brighton in the UK) , started early under the Chapiteau tent and soon got everybody in a warm "feel good mood", perfect to start the evening, with quality jazz and electro influenced hip-hop and a beautiful singer. The crowd filled the tent but it wasn't too dense and the sound engineers did a great job, which made the concert a very nice listening experience. See Jeremy's video which he has uploaded to U tube here. " The Colline" as people here commonly call "the hill" overlooking the food stands near the Ruche (it says "Les Galets Bleus" on the map which refering to the big new blue waterbags you can sit on) wasn’t as full as it usually is, probably because of the expected weather, so finding a nice spot to sit and have a few drinks with friends was easy. Getting food down by the Ruche though took quite a long time as the area was absolutely packed when we arrived. We just had enough time to get a hot “sandwich du Berger” before getting in front of the Grande Scène for Portishead. "Chillingly beautiful voice of singer Beth Gibbons" Portishead started its concert a little disconnected from the crowd, as they were playing on the biggest stage reserved for the top acts. But as I heard someone put it (exaggerating ever so slightly of course), that programming Portishead under the Chapiteau (a smaller tent), would have been like programming the Rolling Stones in the Club Tent (even smaller tent!) . However after a few songs were played, the crowd started cheering with more intensity and at the chillingly beautiful voice of the singer Beth Gibbons mixed with an instrumental performance mastered over 20 years of the band’s existence. When timeless “Glory Box” was played, everyone in one very big crowd seemed to agree that they were hearing some amazing music, and you could feel it. Free Hugs Hurrying over to the Chapiteau to try and catch the rest of the concert of American band Beirut did cast a little doubt on to whether the concert scheduling was very appropriate, and so did hurrying back to the Grande Scène to see the Chemical Brothers, but the job of programming mustn’t be easy! And passing a massive guy with a sign giving out free hugs probably made everyone feel much better. Beirut seemed to have created quite an atmosphere under the Chapiteau where you could feel warmth both in bodies and hearts. Arriving in the middle of the concert after seeing Portishead did kind of keep you from enjoying it as much as people who’d been there since the beginning. But the band sure did create a mix of quality folk goodness. Back to the Grand Scène for a great concert from English electro legends The Chemical Brothers, whose light show and set up were as exciting as the music. The crowd at the front was fun and cheerful, and everything was in place for a good concert. Earplugs made the experience a lot better though, letting you hear the actual music behind the overwhelming bass and preventing your ears from bleeding! All in all it was a great night, especially for music and the lack of rain, and tonight PJ Harvey and The Strokes are sure to bring the crowd a great time, and I definitely recommend Tarrus Riley and Duane Stephenson for reggae enthusiasts.

Readers may have seen purple flags that have sprung up on lamp posts along the lake road, and around the town. These flags are promoting the 2010/11 UEFA European Women’s Under-17 Football Championship. The competition begins on the 28th July and ends with the final on the 31st and will be held at Colovray in Nyon. The four qualified teams in the final are France, Germany, Iceland and Spain. It promises to be an exciting final as the continent's most talented young female players descend on Nyon! This year the ambassador of the final tournament is former Swiss national team player Patrick Müller. His former clubs include Servette FC Genève, Grasshoppers Club, Olympique Lyonnais and AS Monaco. He will be present at the final on Sunday. For more info see the UEFA site here The match schedule for the final round is as follows: Thursday 28 July Semi-final 1: Iceland v Spain (at 14.00) Semi-final 2: Germany v France (at 18.00) Sunday 31 July Third- place play-off (at 14.00) Final (at 18.00) Eurosport 2 will broadcast the two semi-finals and the final live.

A wrist full of festival armbands on the "Ride to Live" tour - Greg Parmley at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Greg Parmley is a man on a mission. A mission to visit as many music festivals as he can across Europe in one month. He began his trip on June 24th at Glastonbury in the UK, went straight on to "Hard Rock Calling" and then headed off, (on a BMW 1200R motorbike) over to the continent. His journey took him to Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy, before arriving in Switzerland on July 15th for the Moon and Stars festival in Locarno. His other mission - to make it into the Guinness Book of Records for being the person to visit the most music festivals in 30 days. Living in Nyon caught up with him at the Montreux Jazz festival, a week before the end of his journey. He is due to arrive in Nyon for the first night of Paléo after visiting the Gurten Festival and the Live at Sunset festival in Zurich. Like on any true band tour, he's also got the touring T shirt with slogan - "Ride to Live 2011" - complete with black background, biker's helmet and two crossed microphones. He's also got stories to tell. The washing he left in a launderette in Slovakia (and only remembered when he was 200 miles away), the weather, trying to dry out both himself and his gear after days of torrential rain. The choice of food at the festivals which he says "has sometimes been a bit clichéd": sausages in Germany, chips in Belgium etc and "there has been quite a lot of ham and cheese for breakfast" in the hotels along the route. As to all that biking, there have been very few hiccups. "There was one "slight altercation with a truck, a hairpin bend and some tarmac that ran out, and I did moan just a bit at having to pay for a pee at a motorway service station in Germany, but on the whole, it's been relatively problem free." Then of course there's the music, the cool concerts, the festivals where he discovered new bands, the friendly folk and muisc fans ththat he has met in service stations, backstage and in the grounds at each event. There are the concerts that were more memorable for the atmosphere rather than the music, but most of all - the fun. However, after all those miles and all those concerts, wasn't it is a bit tiring, wasn't he a bit jaded of it all by now? "Not at all, I'm only just getting into my stride. It took a while to adapt to everything, the bike" (he took an advanced bike riding course before the trip), "the planning and pacing and organisational details, but now I'm really on a roll. If all goes according to plan, this trip should make it into the record books, although I reckon I could have actually added more festivals to the itinerary but this will do for now. It has been fascinating to see what all the festivals have been about, it's not always just about the music, it's the ambience, the people that go to them that define them". Greg comes with a professional interest in the whole tour. He is the editor of IQ magazine, the magazine of the International Live Music business. Note - there is an article in the magazine on how Paléo is trying to combat the black market in ticketing for this year's festival. Greg also edited the book "My life on the Road with Coldplay". He is reporting on the trip for the Telegraph and commenting on Facebook about the whole experience (Ride to Live 2011). On the Telegraph site he categorises each festival from the practical; location etc, to festival genre and music policy. According to Greg; "Fatboy Slim need not apply to appear at Metalcamp in Slovenia ". At the Exit festival in Serbia, it's the "locals, Brits and the socially aware" who attend. It's this last festival that brings particularly good memories for Greg. "This is an extraordinary festival set around and in a fortress; it also comes with an interesting political history". Other concerts have come as a surprise, albeit with surreal experiences. "The children's festival (Pennenzakkenrock in Belgium) was "different ", set on a man made island with the parents of the children all looking on". Have there been any concerts that have really stood out along the trip? "There have been many good ones but Swedish "Mando Diao" (who played at the Moon and Stars in Locarno), and U.S band "Queens of the Stone Age" (who played at Roch Werchter in Belgium), both gave memorable concerts. I'm open to most types of music so this in a way, is a dream trip. There have been very few downsides to it. One of them is perhaps the obvious, when you know you have to get up the following morning to drive 400 or so miles on a motorbike you obviously have to be prudent and can only have just one or two few beers the night before, but that's OK. I'm definitely going to celebrate in style on the last night of this whole challenge (July 23rd at the High Voltage Festival in London)". Let's hope that the weather stays dry for Paléo and the festival gives him a warm welcome, his last venue in Europe before heading back over the channel to the UK and all being well - into the record books.

Friday night's Paléo is reviewed by Jérémy Binz who went to see bands performing on the smaller stages at the festival. Check out out his review of Wednesday night at Paléo here. The weather brightened up a lot more on Friday afternoon that it soon became actually quite sunny at Paléo and even wearing jeans seemed a little too much. The sun helped dry up a lot of the mud from the previous days so walking about the festival was way easier and made for a welcome change. The dry weather and the fact that it was Friday evening, were probably the two main reasons why there were a lot more people around the festival than on the previous days. Photo above and below- Thursday night's mud at Paléo. First on when I got in the festival was French reggae band Danakil, however I decided to skip this concert as I’d already seen them last year. I heard the concert was good and chilled out though, and it must have been, judging by the massive crowd watching them perform on the Grande Scène. Instead I decided to go and discover something new, which is the best thing to do when you’re not interested by the bigger acts. I’ve sometimes found great artists by doing just that. Binary Audio Misfits I checked out Binary Audio Misfits who were playing a mix of rock and hip-hop under the Club Tent. The crowd seemed to have been drawn away from the place to go in front of the Grande Scène but the few there were dedicated enough. The band is actually a fusion of a French band and an American one, giving the music its own style. It was a little basic, but the vocals made up for it and the band was energetic. Photo above courtesy Paléo - Binary Audio Misfits The Creole Choir of Cuba Next up, after a quick stop on the Colline to greet a few friends, was the colourful Creole Choir Of Cuba. Something to see if you’re into Latin music! The show was great with lots of dancing by Cuban women in magnificent dresses and enormous Cuban smiles all over the Dome scene, and the music, a lot of singing with a few chosen instruments, literally transported you to Cuba. Photo above - courtesy Paléo - The Creole Choir of Cuba Later on in the same place and still in the Latin repertoire was Los Van Van, which was a little disappointing as we were expecting something a little less pop. It wasn’t bad of course, but my friends and I soon decided it was time for something else. Instead we went to get some food, and the green curry we tried was amazing. We Love Machines On to the Détour for We Love Machines which turned out to be a fun and energetic French touch electro band. Paléo’s smallest scène was soon filled with an excited crowd of young people jumping around with the sound. The last tune played turned out as a nice surprise for some as it was probably the first time some dubstep could be heard in Paléo. Calle 13 - Hot stuff from Puerto Rico! We went straight to the Chapiteau after that to see what Calle 13 was about. I would’ve said it was a mix of hip-hop and reggaeton until the singer announced: “This is not hip-hop or reggaeton, this is Calle 13!” Photo courtesy - Paléo/ Lionel Flusin But still, it was anyway, mixed with cumbia, ska and jazz too. Hot stuff from Puerto Rico! They were very convincing on stage, especially the two singers who were bursting with energy the whole time. The instrumentals were very well done and the vocals great. They really got the crowd participating. At some point some people in the crowd started throwing South American flags on the stage and the singer hung them all up around the stage. The atmosphere soon became nice and hot with everybody dancing and enjoying. It was a great concert, my personal favourite for that day! Photo courtesy - Paléo / Lionel Flusin To end the night what could’ve been better than Round Table Knights? It’s one of the Swiss electro bands that’s really worth hearing, with their creative and clever mix of minimal electro. Ending their concert with a drum & bass tune was a wise choice for a great performance as everyone in the dense crowd gave out their last burst of energy, and a nice treat for lots of enthusiasts. See Round Table Nights video trailer here After that last concert, we finally caught a few raindrops and it was clear the night was over so we headed to the gates, passing the same guy than yesterday giving out free hugs. I’ll have to give it a try next time! Tomorrow will be another discovery night for me as I haven’t heard from most of the artists coming up, but it looks like Latin music will once again be the main performance under the Dome, and I’m sure Mika will please a massive crowd on the main stage.

There was a significant Cuban influence to the music at some of Thursday night's concerts at Paléo. Firstly, the group "Afrocubism" blended traditional Cuban sound with music from Mali to an audience in the Chapiteau tent. Later on, over in the "Dome", the very talented Raul Paz from Cuba played to a packed audience and to much applause. "One of the best concerts so far this year at Paléo" according to many fans. Over in the Club tent the rythmn was Cajun/Zydeco/Blues/ Rock from Geneva band Mama Rosin. For this particular set, the talented trio had teamed up with UK rockabilly band Hipbone Slim and the Knee Tremblers. A superb combination of music and styles with an energetic performance from them all. As this concert started at 17:00, (not long after the festival gates opened), the music and enthusiasm from the band got everyone dancing and kicked off the evening in style. (The Living in Nyon editor has written about this band for other publications and predicted they would go far, it seems they have, with recent appearances in Glastonbury and on Later with Jules Holland). The headline acts last night on the Grand Scene included Jean Louis Aubert, P. J Harvey and The Strokes, all them atracting big crowds. However the beauty of Paléo is that there are often smaller bands waiting to be discovered and are given the chance to perform at this festival. The Detour is a tent that showcases up-and-coming Swiss bands and last night it was the turn of Lausanne based Proffesor Wouassa. With their mix of afrobeat, jazz, soul, funk and a range of different vocalists, their sound attracted many festival goers. Photos below vocalists from Proffesor Wouassa. Many of these festival goers had simply been walking by the tent but ended up going inside to see who was playing and remained there through the entire set (some of them choosing to miss P. J Harvey who was playing at the same time on the main stage). A reminder also to readers that Paléo is not just for adults, it's for children too, entrance is free for them up to the age of 12. There are various areas that cater for children and they are situated in the La Ruche area of the grounds. This area is a quieter area of the festival grounds where children and parents can watch circus and theatre acts and listen to their own kind of music away from the main stages. For younger children, the Miel Melo is a designated area for children (no alcohol or smoking in here), and there are all sorts of games provided for entertainment, juggling, board games etc. The mud was still around last night resulting in some interesting footwear being worn. See photos and other images below. Apologies for slightly fuzzy quality of some of the above photos due to smoky atmosphere in some of the venues!