The importance of popular music
On the Opal Coast, the numerous carnivals of which the famous carnival of Dunkerque are the scene of fabulous fanfares and harmonies involving drums, fife, accordion... Traditional songs and dances are also performed with bagpipes, violin, spinet, piposa... with artists like Marieke, Jean-Jacques Revillon or the Rococco Rijsel Trio. Not a big party is made without a musical tune, whether traditional (like the sea songs of the sea festival in Boulogne-sur-Mer) or more modern. It doesn't matter, as long as the atmosphere is there!
There are also many nursery rhymes and songs in Ch'tis (the Picardy language), one of the best known being "Le P'tit Quinquin" by Alexandre Desrousseaux, which many northerners will be able to sing at least in part.
The Opal Coast also shines by the great variety of musical practices to which one can devote oneself, like the 29 associations managed by the Musical Delegation of the Opal Coast and its great diversity of music played in amateur: harmony orchestras, choirs, symphonic orchestra, accordions, and its numerous music schools... Enough to cultivate a taste for music and its many instruments.
The North, land of inspiration for many artists
For many years, the North and its very particular history have never ceased to inspire artists. Sometimes appreciated for its identity, or valued for its singular history and landscapes, the region is sometimes just a mention, and other times at the heart of true masterpieces that remain in the memory.
In 1967, Enrico Masias wrote a laudatory portrait of "The people of the north", who "have in their eyes the blue that is missing from their decor (...) have in their hearts the sun that they do not have outside". The artist Pierre Bachelet dedicated a real tribute to the miners in his third album in 1982 with the now mythical song "Les Corons". We can also mention Bourvil and his "Clair de lune à Maubeuge", Renaud and his "Chtimi rock", Claude Barzotti and his "fille des Flandres", or Louis Arti and his "plage de Dunkerque"...
Many musical events throughout the year
Faced with this effervescence, it is not surprising to note the large number of music festivals and their variety in the Hauts-de-France. From the return of the warm weather until the end of the year, there is not a month without a music festival.
From March onwards, the Paradis Artificiels in the Lille Metropolis offer a real series of concerts around current music.
At the end of May and beginning of June, the Musica Nigella festival opens the festivities by celebrating classical music and welcomes several thousand visitors in sometimes atypical places. At the end of June, the Mid-Summer Festival celebrates Franco-British links in the theater of Hardelot with baroque music, plays, dance and opera.
In July, many festivals are expected: the Main Square Festival in Arras, the Opal Coast Festival where they celebrate the French song and its great names with a dozen concerts from Boulogne-sur-Mer to Hardelot or the Nuits Secrètes and their famous "Parcours Secrets" in Aulnoye Aymeries. The same month, the Hardelot festival offers a more "classical" atmosphere... since it celebrates classical music and jazz music. The concerts are of high quality, with interpretations of pieces by great composers given by confirmed artists.
In September, the Poulpaphone celebrates the beginning of the school year! Behind this atypical name which already gives the tone, a festival of current and electric music in the Boulonnais. From rock to electro, passing by pop or hip-hop, creativity is celebrated and puts forward artists from all horizons.
In November, finally, you can opt for jazz with Tendances Jazz and its concerts, meetings and master classes or more current music with Intramurock. We also salute the commitment of the festival Le père noël est-il un rockeur à Lille, for which you have to come with a gift as a ticket (collection for associations).
And in December, many bands will not fail to warm up the atmosphere during the traditional Christmas markets! It's impossible not to find the music festival of your dreams in our beautiful region.
Art and history theatres
Theater also has a nice place in the region with several emblematic theaters. Let's start with the Grand Théâtre de Calais. As early as the 15th century, there are references to plays performed in the city, then in front of the Notre-Dame church. The first Calaisian theater was built in 1725 in the present "Rue de la Mer" and consisted of a simple square with benches, a stage and three painted canvases. It had several youths before becoming the municipal theater that we know. Today, it is a very popular place, containing 1390 seats. It is moreover the third theater in France to have an iron stage machinery in its entirety.
More atypical, the wooden theater of Hardelot is the first Elizabethan theater in France, and it received the award for best wooden construction in the world in 2017. Inaugurated in 2016, it is an architectural marvel that allows Hardelot to stand out and pays tribute to Franco-British ties. Wood is omnipresent, from spruce to larch to waxed raw oak. It is also a popular venue for local concerts and festivals.
In the capital of Flanders, the beautiful city of Lille, there are several theaters, including the famous Théâtre du Nord, a listed historic monument, housed in an old guardhouse. We can also mention the Sébastopol theater inaugurated in 1 903.
The region also has a small number of theaters classified as "national stages" such as the Phénix in Valenciennes, La Rose des Vents in Villeneuve d'Ascq or the Manège theater in Maubeuge. This label was set up in 1991 and is awarded by the Ministry of Culture. Its objective is to allow the cultural development of cities and territories. There are nearly 80 national stages in France and in the French overseas territories.
