THE 22nd edition of Fete de la Musique in Manila kicked off in style with a promise of more future venues, as Novotel in the Araneta Center played host to the official party.
Organizers, partners and friends gathered in a relaxed atmosphere for cocktails, welcomed, in turn, by Novotel General Manager Bernd Shcneider, Alliance Française de Manille Director Patrick Deyvant and French Embassy Cultural Affairs Head Yves Zoberman.
Guests were then introduced to a 23-year-old singer-song writer Nathan Zanagar, this year’s headlining French guest artist who made a name for himself on YouTube.
His eclectic style features a mix of gospel and rock and great covers, including his own take of Sting’s “Hounds of Winter”. He also composed “Le Jeune” in 2014, an ode to youth.
Zanagar’s set list were performed acoustic during the party, wherein he jokingly shared that he always brings a miniature Tour Eiffel to place on stage for good luck whenever he performs, but finding a much larger one as part of the backdrop made him happily forego his ritual.
For his part, Deyvant shared that Fete de la Musique was conceived by then-French Minister of Culture Jack Lang in 1981 to celebrate friendship that transcends borders, as music itself speaks of freedom.
Envisioned to take place during the summer solstice, the event encourages people to come out in the streets and make music in an atmosphere of friendship.
Today amateurs and professionals alike are always welcome to share their talent for free in keeping with the spirit of the event that highlights music as a unifying force.
This movement that has snowballed to include more than 700 cities in about 120 countries worldwide, is enthusiastically embraced in the Philippines by local artists who are joining and contributing to the increase in the number of venues for the musical event.
Main venues for this year’s edition of the musical event are A-Venue and Greenbelt in Makati City.
Deyvant asserts the commitment of Alliance Française in the future expansion of Fete de la Musique. A clear signal was the choice for the holding the kickoff party at Novotel. In as much as Makati City has always given support, the local government of Quezon City will soon be tapped.
Bing Austria, who handles the Mod stage, mentioned that he has been active in the past years both as a musician and partner in charge of a pocket stage. He views the musical event as an occasion to widen the musical taste of fellow Filipinos—his declared mission in life.
Ian Urrutia, in charge of the Indie stage has developed Vandals on the Wall from a blog to a full-blown platform for the promotion of local music, mainstream and indie alike, and is clearly an appreciated partner in this event.
Fete de la Musique is organized by Alliance Française de Manille, the Embassy of France and Tourism Promotion Board, in partnership with B-side Production.
