Have you heard of Christine And the Queens? Did you go see her and her band when she played at the 9:30 Club earlier this year? I couldn't make it, so I'm stoked she's coming back! As part of a small North American tour, she'll be performing at the All Things Go Fall Classic Music Festival at Yards Park this Saturday, October 8th. DC's not a big music festival town and I've loved seeing this one grow from its beginning at Dock 5 behind Union Market in 2014. And of course I love that there's a French artist in the line-up!! The headliners this year are Empire of the Sun (the videos from the Australian band are amazing, like this one for Alive, so I bet they put on quite a show!). They'll ...
Musique
Christine & The Queens au Festival All Things Go Fall Classic
Vous êtes allés voir Christine And the Queens quand elle est passée au 9:30 Club un peu plus tôt dans l'année? Moi j'ai pas pu, donc je suis bien contente qu'elle revienne nous voir à l'occasion d'une petite tournée Nord Américaine. Elle sera au All Things Go Fall Classic Music Festival à Yards Park le Samedi 8 Octobre. On a pas beaucoup de festival de musique comme ça à Washington et j'aime bien voir sa progression depuis ces débuts au Dock 5 derriere Union Market en 2014... et le fait bien sur qu'il y a une super artiste française dans le line-up!! La tête d'affiche cette année c'est les Australiens de Empire of the Sun (leurs vidéos sont toujours superbes, comme la pour Alive, donc ...
Christine and the Queens at the 9:30 Club
Have you heard of Christine and the Queens? Yes!? Then you know how awesome she is! You can skip the rest of this post and just click on this link to buy tickets to see her perform at the 9:30 Club on May 31. French musicians don't grace US stages very often, and when they do, we - Frenchies and francophiles - have a responsibility to go cheer them on. Otherwise, they won't come see us anymore ;-) If you have no idea who Christine and the Queens is then let me introduce you to the best French band you're not listening to right now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs40yxHjTxQ Christine and the Queens is the androgynous alter ego of Héloïse Letissier, a stylish 27-year-old Parisienne who ...
Francophonie Festival, 2015 Edition
The largest celebration of French culture and language in the world—the Francophonie Cultural Festival—is returning to the US capital March 5 to April 1, 2015. Organized by the D.C. Francophonie Committee in association with l'Alliance Française and Smithsonian Associates, the festival engages over 40 embassies for a month of cultural events ranging from lectures to concerts and movie screenings, culminating as usual with la Grande Fête de la Francophonie, a huge foodie bash at la Maison Française at the French Embassy. What I've loved about the partnership with Smithsonian Associates this year is how active Smithsonian at 8 (the 21+ after-hours event planning art of the Smithsonian) has ...
Chantons Noel Concerts at National City Christian Church
Fa Oh la la la la la ~ The celebrated Children's Chorus of Washington will be touring France this summer (lucky them) and in anticipation of their trip, they are giving their Christmas concerts a french twist this year. The award winning chorus will be joined by the Amadeus Brass Quintet for two concerts of French Christmas music at the National City Christian Church at Thomas Circle. The two concerts are December 20 and December 21, both at 4PM. Tickets are $50 for adult premium sitting, $25 regular and $10 for children under 12. Save the date and purchase your tickets here. ♫ Mon beau sapin ♪ roi des forêts... ♬ ...
Give Your DC Summer a French Twist
Stuck in the city for the summer? Luckily, there are a ton of events across town to help you pretend you're in France. CHEER FOR LES BLEUS DURING THE WORLD CUP Head to Redline on game day to join the French Expat Meet-Up and L'Union des Français de l'étranger de Washington in supporting l'Equipe de France as they fight to get out of Group H. And if you want to learn more about Les Bleus, head to l'Alliance Francaise after the game on Friday, June 20. Sports historian Lindsay Krasnoff will moderate a panel of sports journalists on the history and importance of the 1998 World Cup champions in French society. LA FETE DE LA MUSIQUE It's one of my favourite events every year. New York goes ...
Patriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick in DC November 5th
How do I even begin to explain Patrick Bruel? Today he's Patrick, a respected actor, singer, soccer fan and poker player. Back when I was une adolescente, he was Patriiiiiiiiiiick, idol of an entire generation who reinvented himself in 2002 with Entre-Deux, an album of duets filled with tracks from the 30s and 40s. More recently, he was in this hilarious French comedy called "What's in a Name" / "le Prenom" which you can and should rent on Amazon! (you can also stream A Secret on netflix) But back to Patriiiiick, the singer, who is coming to visit us with 6 US concerts this fall (surprisingly, there isn't a date in Vegas, though I'm sure he'll be paying the poker mecca a visit ...
Save the Date: Ah, que Johnny a DC (et NYC…!)
He may still be called France's "biggest rock star" but Johnny Hallyday lives in the United States these days, where he is a permanent US resident just like me... He's past his prime, yes, but he's had a long and illustrious musical career. And he's touring the country this spring.... Like most French artist on a US tour, he'll be performing in New York (May 6, Beacon Theater) and Los Angeles, because, well, these are clearly the only two American cities French artists know. But lucky us, he'll also be stopping by the District (and San Francisco, and Miami Beach). And actually, it'll probably be quite a treat... Johnny Hallyday typically performs in very large concert venues in France and ...
La Fête de la Musique at Malmaison
Malmaison and l'Alliance Française teamed up again this year to host the 2013 edition of la Fête de la Musique. La Fête de la Musique is France's annual celebration of music that takes place on the longest day of the year. Musicians take to the streets (for amateurs) and to public stages (for professionals and more established artists) to give free concerts. In Washington, French establishments like the Sofitel Hotel and the French Embassy typically host events, as does l'Alliance Française. For 13 hours, 13 different artists took the stage and took Washingtonians on summer journey through many musical worlds. Here are a few pictures I took during the daytime portion of event at ...
Summer Solstice in D.C.: heat… and music.
The official start of summer will bring “music” to Washingtonians' ears... and sweat to every other part of their body. It's hot out there ;-) But with the soaring tempteratures and three day heat wave also comes the annual celebration of music that is known as la fête de la musique. In France, it's a huge thing, with free concerts everywhere aiming to encourage amateur muscians to get out there and perform in the streets or other public forums. It's also a day for people to discover new genres of music, with free classical concertos for example or for those who may not be able to afford expensive concert tickets to see their favourite artists perform at no cost. In D.C., it's a smaller ...
