B'jaysus! Bjork, Jarvis, CSS, Amy Winehouse, Kings Of Leon, Bat For Lashes, JMC, Dinosaur Jr, The Shins, Mogwai, The Fratellis, the now-obligatory Arcade Fire and loads more - all just a short metro hop out of the centre of the French capital at the end of August. Watch a video from one of the home-grown headliners, the brilliant Emilie Simon.
In August, Paris is relatively deserted. Parisians and tourists alike all make for the beaches and campsites, leaving the city free for those staying in the city. Except for the last weekend of the month, that is, when the place gets flooded with pop stars for the Rock En Seine festival on 24-26 August.
Just a short ride on the metro out of the centre of Paris (and for your blogger a direct bus line from apartment door to venue gate), the picturesque Parc de Saint Cloud is on the banks of the Seine.
Almost as attractive as the setting is the line-up: all three days feature indie-big-hitters and cult heroes. Friday's headliners are Arcade Fire, appearing at their millionth French festival this summer (it's now a running joke for French music fans: 'mon Dieu, not Arcade Fire again!' Also on Friday are Mogwai, The Hives, Dinosaur Jr, Dizzee Rascal, Biffy Clyro and Unkle, and others.
Tool and the reformed Jesus And Mary Chain top Saturday's bill, but the real treat will be our fellow Paris-resident Jarvis Cocker. There'll also be some CSS, Amy Winehouse and Fratellis that day.
Finally, Sunday's star turn is Bjork, following up what was by all accounts a fantastic Glastonbury appearance by her. Kings of Leon, Enter Shikari and Bat For Lashes are also appearing that day.
The full line-up is:
Friday 24 August: Arcade Fire, The Hives, Emilie Simon, 2 Many DJ's, Dinosaur Jr, Albert Hammond Jr, Mogwai, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Unkle, The Shins, Noisettes, Biffy Clyro
Saturday 26 August: Tool, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Les Rita Mitsouko, CSS, Alpha, Erik Truffaz, Jarvis Cocker, Amy Winehouse, The Fratellis, Puppetmastaz, Terry Poison, Hellogoodbye
Sunday 27 August: Björk, Kings Of Leon, Faithless, Craig Armstrong, Just Jack, Kelis, Bromheads Jackets, Patrick Wolf, Enter Shikari, Devotchka, Bat for Lashes
A three-day pass for all that costs just €98.00, a one-day ticket costs €42 and a single metro ticket costs €1.40. Booking and further info in English are available on the Rock En Seine website.
Of the festival's French acts, the most notable names are '80s cult heroes Les Rita Mitsuoko (more on them in another post), our faves Pravda - and Emilie Simon, whose 2006 album 'Vegetal' was a smashing bit of electro-pop (and certainly the greatest ever concept album about plants). Here's the extravagant video for the wonderful rock-out of 'Fleur De Saison', one of our top French tunes of last year: