Fête de la Musique

quote:

Every year on the Summer Solstice, France celebrates the Fête de la Musique. Since 1982 the day of free music has been offered in such venues as parks, music halls, castles, or train stations, as well as on street corners around the country and within the city of Paris. The musicians play for free, the concerts are free, and the organization encourages larger musical organizations to play in venues they normally wouldn’t.

Official website (in French)

I'll say there's a Fete de la Musique going on in Paris! There's a funk band playing right below my window in the Latin Quarter! They're pretty good, but now we'll head out to find some jazz.

I think this was one of the most pleasant surprises early on in our visit. We were passing through Valliere from the market at Amboise when we decided to stop and enjoy a walk around a pond. As we walked, we heard a duo playing, discovering two gentlemen were playing guitar and bass under the porch of the church.

It was a small celebration, but everyone out on the street of such a sleepy town could not resist stopping to listen for quite awhile before moving on.