Keystone-SDA
The Printemps de Bourges opened its 49th edition on Tuesday at the same time as the ball of musical festivals, with a rain of stars, including the return of Michel Polnareff, and budgetary clouds.
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16 avril 2025 – 08:09
(Keystone-ATS) The singer of “Goodbye Marylou” stacks at 80 years for a news-and perhaps last-tour, of which Bourges is the first French date, after a start in London. He will notably go through Lausanne in May and the Sion festival under the stars in July.
Sitting at his piano, wearing a cowboy hat, white glasses on his nose, Polnareff started his show with a “Laze ball”, in front of a top hall. “Before going on stage, I am still in an absolutely appalling state. And it takes 2-3 titles to say: well, I’m happy to be there, ”he said at the end of March.
“Admiral” and Moussaillons
But the pace then accelerated, with a voice always present to sing its successes from the 1960s to 1980: “Tam Tam”, “The doll that does no” and “Love with you” whose words it replaced by “Love with you”. He also invited the public to blow the next song to him, a “song on demand”.
“The Admiral” shows that he is not yet ready to drop the bar, after having suffered criticism on the quality of services in 2023. He returned with “A time for them”, an album expected on April 25.
Before him, Emma Peters launched the evening: the singer, who exploded with a remix of her cover of “illegal”, was rocked by the hits of Michel Polnareff. “I had a double CD at home that I listened to on my walkman, so it’s really a pleasure to be scheduled with him tonight,” she said before her concert.
-Different styles
The Printemps poster is also available under different styles: the “Granada” Pop Clara Luciani, the undeordible Jean-Louis Aubert, the electro artist The Avener or Lucky Love and Styleto, both appointed to the last victories of music.
The weekend will be faster, with the new reference Tiakola, the Algerian star Soolking, the former Youtubeur Théodort (“Wayeh”) or Vald, back with his remarkable “pandemonium”.
The discovery also continues to be the DNA of the Center of France festival: for 40 years, its national support system, the unheard of, has taken 1600 artists under its wing. Fire! Chatterton, Fishbach and Eddy de Pretto – President of the 2025 jury – went there.
The Printemps de Bourges reveals six creations in parallel, including a celebration of the repertoire of Oum Kalthoum, disappeared 50 years ago.
Concerts are held until Saturday but the festival is beating until Sunday with “spring in the city”, its free version. All spaces combined, Bourges welcomed around 250,000 festival -goers last year.
As the fifties approach, spring cannot rest on its laurels: between drop in credits and inflation of production costs and stamps, the chisel effect leads its finances.
For the first time in ten years, the budget – 7.5 million euros in 2024 – was revised downwards, amputated by 400,000 euros in funding, including 250,000 euros in public aid. A situation which reflects recent political arbitrations unfavorable to the cultural environment.
“It is a constrained decline,” observes its director Boris Vedel, believing that there is no choice but to “strengthen yourself on emergence”, rather than eyeing big names.
This observation is similar to that of other festivals, which also faces a multiple offer, a change in consumption of young fans and are at the mercy of weather whims. According to the National Center for Music, 44% of festivals displaying filling rates above 90% completed a deficit edition in 2024.
