Today and tomorrow is Radio Festival, an annual event created to celebrate the art of sound broadcasting. This year, focus on Canal b, an independent radio station in Rennes created in 1984. Financed largely by grants, the radio station is run by around a hundred volunteers and a few employees, in a free spirit.
Between tradition and modernity, this celebration is a tribute to radio in all its forms. From traditional FM to the new DAB+ terrestrial broadcasting via web radios, this 3rd edition of the radio festival unites small and large radio stations which all bring the territories to life. As DAB+ continues to gain ground in France, the Radio Festival organizing team encourages all stations, large and small, to actively participate in the event. The main objective is to celebrate the resilience and innovation of radio throughout the ages, as it has been able to diversify and adapt.
Canal b radio is a good example. At 40 years old, it is one of the oldest independent Breton radio stations. Installed in the basement of the Rennes association house, the station has become an institution over the years. Thibaut Boulais was already in the team when it was created in 1984: “There you see me, I’m 12.13 years old with a little headset with sponge ear cups. Canal b, b like Bruz, was put together by a group of radio enthusiasts within an MJC. It doesn’t only broadcast for a few hours at the weekend, a little on Saturday with local news and slots on Sunday where everyone came to play their records.remembers the volunteer facilitator.
Born in the golden age of radio, Canal quickly found its audience, seduced by a wind of freedom blowing through the city: “In 1980, Rennes is a city where it creates in all directions. Young people are some of them studying at university here and they want to do things. They want to listen to music that the radios of the time did not play “testifies Yvon Lechevestrier, author of “40 years of local radio stories in Rennes”.
Canal B is not only a radio station that plays music, we also have information, media education and cinema broadcasts. That’s the DNA of Canal b, being curious
Yann BarbotinProgrammer and presenter on Canal b
Over the years, Canal has managed to carve out a special place in the hearts of listeners. The recipe for its success: a varied playlist, far from musical standards and daily broadcasts: “Canal B is not only a radio station that plays music, we also have information, media education and cinema broadcasts. That’s the DNA of Canal b, being curious.” concludes Yann Barbotin, programmer and radio host. Nicknamed curious radio, Canal b has 6 employees and around a hundred volunteers. Everyone assures us that the station still has a bright future ahead of it.
(With Lara Dolan and Thierry Bouilly)
