Big Music Fest in Arles July 11 to 17

Every summer...for seven days and six nights...from 10 am to 4
am...the city of Arles welcomes Le
Suds � Arles, a festival of world music that grows in size and reputation
each year. This year (the 21st annual), 60 or so performances are scheduled and roughly 60,000 people are expected. The dates are July 11 to 17.

Venues around Arles (designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site),
include the majestic Th��tre Antique (where evening concerts will be held
July 12, 13, 14 and 15), the Cour de l�Archev�ch� and the former SNCF
railway site known as the Parc des Ateliers (or just "the Ateliers").
See more info about the Ateliers below.

In addition to performances by artists from all over the world,
there will be master classes (41 at last count, from beginner to professional),
workshops for young people, stages (in music, dance and voice),
opportunities to meet the performers and more.

Some special dates to note: On the 11th, there are free concerts
in museums; on Saturday the 16th, the whole night (from 9.30 pm) will be held
in the Ateliers; and the 17th is a special day in Salin-de-Giraud, in the
Camargue.



All the info is on the
festival website, with a complete schedule, background on the performers,
ticket info, sound clips, maps, etc. The schedule in English is here. 

If you have questions and can't find what you need on the site,
the kind folks in the festival office said you can reach out by phone or email
and they'll be happy to answer in English.

Maisons des Suds

66, rue du 4 Septembre

13200 Arles

Tel +33 (0)4 90 96 06 27

contact@suds-arles.com

Note: The old train buildings mentioned above are
currently being rehabbed by the Luma
Foundation, as part of the biggest "patronage" project in Europe,
the centerpiece of which is a new building designed by FrankGehry. I'll have all
the details on this in a future story but if you are going to Arles for music
festival, consider exploring the Luma construction site with a "virtual
tour" in French or English. Tours are  just over an hour and all the
info is on the Luma site here.