A discovery in the heart of Brittany
Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne has recently hosted the sixth edition of the festival V and B Fest’ (Vind and bière, or wine and beer, which is what the main sponsor of the event, V and B groupe, produces), with relevant international artists but taking great care of the local scene and national artists.
As we arrive we find an enclosure in a rural space, with a significant extension where it is easily palpable that it is a place of farming and livestock. We can see the tents where the most adventurous will live together during the four days that the festival lasts. It should be noted that there is an area so that volunteers can also rest within the same festival site.
Yes, volunteers. Because the spirit of the festival and what prevails is the love for music. They barely have professional workers at the V and B fest’ but they have a force of more than 1,650 volunteers working year after year to welcome 50,000 people per day and make the experience optimal. So much so that for those who stay up late they have a space called Village where they have activities during the morning such as games and sporting events such as the beach soccer championship (yes, beach soccer in a town without a coast).
The festival was created for the love of music as we mentioned above and wants to be an attraction for the department of Mayenne, in the Pays de la Loire region, in Brittany, just a few minutes from cities like Rennes or Nantes. Its director is Damien Jahier, a 35-year-old young man who has been organizing music festivals for more than half his life, since he created the first one when he was barely 17 years old to be able to finance the dream of some young people who wanted to have a skate park (curiously, this story sounds familiar to us, since in Biarritz, in the Basque Country, the Atabal hall has an important Skate Park next to it). They mentioned to us that Damien was a music lover, very passionate, and we could see it with our eyes since we saw him giving his all in the circle pit and pogos that were set up at the concert. Airborne Saturday afternoon.
The head of media relations Tanguy Aubrée, when asked about the director’s youth, told us that the driving force of the festival was between 23 and 34 years old. But among the volunteers we found from very young people to elderly people, all together, taking care of each space and work.
Once we have seen the surroundings of the festival site, we arrive at the press area, where the anteroom is the jewel in the crown of the festival, and never better said, since it has a palace inside La Domaine de la Marouitère, where time stops, since the place invites you to live an experience of the Middle Ages. The stables converted into offices and the palace or small castle host the artists who will play at the festival.
From there we enter the area where music is the main protagonist. Four stages and two spaces for DJs. The main stage fulfills the function of gathering the large masses, with 5 giant screens and sound equipment distributed throughout the space so that those who are furthest from the stage can also enjoy the live sound. And we attest that yes, it can be heard very well from a distance. Something similar happens with the secondary stage, a smaller space, since the concerts in that space overlap with others and at those times the audience is divided. Even so, it has two other giant screens, placed at a considerable height, so that people can see what is happening on the scene from a considerable distance.
Let’s say that these two scenarios can be found in any space where macro concerts or festivals are organized. But from then on the magic begins. We have a space called Craft Scene, where rock comes to life in each of the performances and where you can taste a wide variety of craft beer. They know how to take care of old rockers and they know what they like. With a decor reminiscent of stempunk in the environment, the audience dressed in black piled up in front of the stage from the very first hour. One thing that should be noted is that even in the early hours the public comes in droves, even though the doors open at 4:00 p.m.
The stage with the most color is located just on the opposite side of the festival site, among the ruins of abandoned trains, the Terminal stage welcomes electronic lovers, with a lot of electro music and a lot of techno, with strobe lights at all times and many people wanting to dance and lose their inhibitions. In that space the music does not stop from the moment the festival opens the doors until it closes. Walking the path between one stage and another (the distances are not enormous, 10 minutes at most from one end to the other), we contemplate the spaces they have for commerce and drinking.
A huge dining room with a wide variety of food stalls (and not just hamburgers and pizzas, but also more local products such as cheeses and sausages) and spaces with long tables where you can sit and enjoy food with friends occupies an important area at the V and B fest. In the back part of it takes place the contest of emerging bands that have been performing at the festival for 5 years. In total they have received 1,600 proposals and the finalists have the opportunity to perform in a space that offers them visibility. We have been able to see bands of very different genres, from metal to a DJ and the winner has been Marcia, a woman who made us think that Rosalía’s El Mal Querer has had a great influence or that she also had an air of Judeline in her way of singing, but she combined it with live electronic music. She was very excited to know that she was the winner of this edition.
But as we have mentioned, it is not just about eating, if the festival has wine and beer in its name, there is an entire street where you can taste these products. Colorful streets, which reminded us a little of the txosnas of Bilbao, with colorful structures and each one with its own music. Many brands of beer, wine and spiritual drinks have their own stands there, apart from some bars that are more common at any festival. The color and good vibes transmitted by those behind the bar were a joy and a spectacle for all the senses. And be careful, we haven’t mentioned anything about prices, we always think that in France they have crazy prices, well, you could have a half-liter craft beer for about 8 euros, a mojito, a cubata or a gin-tonic for less than 10 and a glass of champagne for 8 euros. A, and water for 1.5 euros (of course there were points where you could refill the water).
Finally, mention that there was a space called Barrio Habana, where the Latin music that the French like so much had its place in a little house run by the Marseille-based collective Twerkistan. During the tour we also came across many people in costumes, who gave an interesting color to the great Château-Gontier party. Audience of all ages, entire families (starting from children to grandparents) and with an average of 31 years old. Of course, whoever wants to attend has to be on time, since the vouchers sell out relatively easily. Of course, the experience is well worth it. To travel, the ideal is to go first to Paris and from there by train there is the option of going to Angers or Laval (an hour and a quarter by train) and getting around on the buses or navettes offered by the festival. Otherwise there is also the option of flying to Nantes and moving from there.
As for music, we started the festival enjoying the singer from Strasbourg Matt Pokora. Pop artist who nods to R&B or funk, colorful music. The rain made a small appearance, but it did not evade the people (not that they could, the only negative note of the festival, the lack of a shelter in case of the rain, but everything is not possible). With Pokora We were able to enjoy a medley of the songs “Price Tag” by Jessie J, “No one” by Alicia Keys and “No woman, no cry” by Bob Marley. The people chanted it with enthusiasm. Behind them came the urban pop proposal of Suzannesinger from Avignon, and the desert rock of the Norwegians Slomosa. The Parisians Phew! Chatterton They offered a mix of current and 70s music, with an inclusive point of view, since they had two sign language interpreters on stage, which was undoubtedly interesting. It’s a shame that the downpour fell precisely at that time, since young people and those not so young were dancing and having a lot of fun with them.
Robbie Williams offered the same show that delighted just over a month ago in Bilbao for the enjoyment of those who attended the festival. Previously Parcels gave a great concert where they had the wink of paying tribute to Kavinsky with the song “Nightcall”. The public appreciated it very much. And we close the first night with the visual show of Dimitri Vegaswho chained pop hits in EDM version and homegrown songs for more than an hour.
The second day started with the French woman of English descent Laura Coxwho currently lives near Baiona, Lapurdi, as he told us after the concert. She will soon perform in various parts of the state and we highly recommend her, as she plays various genres of rock with a more than interesting band. Behind her, an artist from the region, Adele Castillona young singer who previously played in the band Videoclub until its dissolution. Band that made her famous and that has a presence during her performance. “Alabama” is probably the best-known song since the melody is that of the song “Amore disperato de Nada”, from 1983 and known for having been used as a jingle in several RTVE advertisements. From the first moment he had the audience in his pocket, showing that playing at home has to be an advantage (I wish we could say the same at other festivals).
A strong storm hit then, lasting approximately an hour, and although we thought it would be completely flooded, the earth absorbed all the water and we saw no wells, puddles, or mud. Amazing. So we continue forward in the festival listening to Marcia on the emerging talent stage before going to see Dub Increferences in reggae not only in France, but also worldwide, who from minute one launched anti-fascist proclamations that the public cheered. After that, the great star of the night, the Congolese Damsopresenting his latest work “Bēyāh”. People turned out in droves to drill and hip-hop beats.
It especially caught our attention that in the run-up to the big concerts, Deezer It showed on the screen a song in karaoke mode by the artist who was going to appear on stage and people were singing it at the top of their lungs, creating a kind of link between what was going to happen and those present.
The last day we could enjoy the V and B Fest’ We had the opportunity to witness the madness of the rockers from the first hour. The Nantes group The Dislockers It offered metal with touches of electronica and full-on screamo where the pogos and circle pits began to be seen from 4:30 p.m. Something that was repeated at the concert Revnoir and the australians Airborne. The latter offered the craziest concert of all, where dust rose in different parts of the space due to the movement of the public who enjoyed the hard rock of the brothers Joel and Ryan O’Keeffe. The color note was provided by the Californian roots reggae band Groundation and the night was filled with the great session offered by the Belgian Charlotte de Wittewhich kept the audience in a trance for more than an hour of techno that echoed throughout the festival. Space that he took advantage of to reclaim club culture on screens.
It’s a shame not to be able to stay on the last day that promised a lot, with the stellar performances of Moby and Paul Kalkbrenner. But everything is not possible. Of course, those who can, should write down the date of mid/end of August for next year. Music of all kinds, good gastronomy, interesting space, opportunity for charming tourism and, above all, to escape the heat of the Iberian Peninsula. V and B Fest’a discovery.
