Bacchus, Déferlantes, Live au Campo, Pellicu-live: “We have one of the three best programs in France!”

David Garcia has been organizing concerts for thirty-one years, and presides over the destiny of four major festivals in the Pyrénées-Orientales. SUZETTE

Bacchus live, from June 6 to 9, in Argelès-sur-Mer. Les Déferlantes, from July 10 to 13, at Barcarès. Live at Campo, from July 22 to 28, in Perpignan. Pellicu-live, from September 5 to 7, in Thuir. These four very different festivals in the Pyrénées-Orientales are directed and programmed by Frontera Productions. We took the 'owner's tour', with David Garcia, his director… happy and enthusiastic!

Bacchus live, Déferlantes, Live au Campo, Pellicu-live… it’s a season of festivals that you’re leading!

Each festival has its identity, has its audience, even if obviously we can find identical spectators from one to the other. Everyone, in any case, has a particular soul and state of mind, and occupies a different period.

Let’s present them in order of appearance…

Bacchus live, which opens our season, this week from June 6 to 9, in the natural amphitheater of the Château de Valmy, in Argelès-sur-Mer, is aimed more at an epicurean audience, from thirty to fifties. Les Déferlantes, from July 10 to 13, at Barcarès, is a much more festive event, with a large density, and much younger. On the one hand we are aimed at those who want to drink good wines while listening to institutions, like Louise Attaque, Manu Chao or Etienne Daho, on the other hand at those who want to party on the sounds of the moment like Maneskin, Booba or Macklemore.

Afterwards, Live at the campo, from July 22 to 28, we are completely seated, in the magical setting of Campo Santo in Perpignan, and we go there to listen to an artist in close proximity. ;nbsp;: Nile Rodgers, Louane, Grand Corps Malade… Finally, Pellicu-live, from September 5 to 7, in Thuir, is a back-to-school festival oriented towards cinema and imagined with François-Xavier Demaison: how we love good things, FX and I , there is also an epicurean and hyper-friendly side. This year we will listen to Patrick Bruel, James Blunt, Selah Sue and there will be master classes from Mathilde Seigner, François Berléand and Olivier Marchal.

How do you go about putting together four different programs at a time when artists are expensive and play everywhere, and where exclusives are rare ?

Each festival has a shoe that fits. For example, we are not going to take Hamza for Bacchus, nor for Pellicu-live, we know that he is a Déferlantes artist. Afterwards, it’s also a matter of luck: one is or one is not on the "routing" turners (the latter optimize the travel of their artists, equipment and technicians, by finding them geographically strategic dates Editor's note). Then, of course, there are the financial conditions. But apart from the Déferlantes, on the very, very big ones, we are not looking to have anyone excluded. What we can put is also conditioned by the capacity of the place. But there are exceptions, artists who are chosen to please the public, despite an additional risk.

You do it at all the festivals, or mainly at the Déferlantes ?

The Breaks require risk-taking because we are in a hyper-competitive and international market. This weekend, there are always a lot of festivals in Europe (without saying anything about the United States) so to position yourself among international stars, you have to go there! At other festivals, it doesn't matter if we are exclusively on French but on staggered dates like that of Pellicu-live, we manage to have internationals like James Blunt.

You too notice a reckless inflation of fees ?

Since the creation of Les Déferlantes in 2007, the fees must have been multiplied by three, even four! Even the French. I remember an artist who filled the Zéniths at the time when we scheduled him at the Déferlantes, in 2009, it was around 50,000 euros. ; now, it’s 200,000 euros for the same attendance potential! It’s a market gone crazy.

Nevertheless, the Breakers must accept this risk!

Okay, we're on another level: when we're in a place where the attendance can be around 40,000 people per evening, it's no longer Valmy (which was to 15,000). We changed status by changing location. Between our new category and good routing and this new category, we can claim other artists. We are on a budget of 12 million, whereas at the start, it was around 450,000 euros, and for the territory, in economic spinoffs, this must represent something something like 20 million.

How is this festival season shaping up for La Frontera productions ?

Honestly, very good. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure things went as well as possible, to have the best organizations and programming. In terms of poster, we have the best, if not one of the three best in France. This is not to brag, but given the very difficult context of this year, we are doing very well. I'm speaking here for Les Déferlantes but our other programming, too, is extraordinary.