Record crowds – and even the sun – came out for this year’s 16th Annual Fête de la Musique
By MARRIE STONE
Photos by Jeff Rovner
“Magic” is the word Laguna Beach Sister Cities (LBSC) President Maggie Hempen settled on after struggling to describe the feeling behind this year’s Fête de la Musique. What began in 2007 as a small pop-up event with fewer than 15 performers (and no budget or advertising) has swelled into an annual tradition with roughly 5,500 estimated people packing Laguna’s Main Beach and Downtown streets to see nearly three dozen separate live bands, soloists and ensembles.
“I’m not sure I understand exactly what that magic is,” said Hempen, confessing that last Saturday’s experience got her choked up and tearful several times. “I think the fact that music is pure joy – it’s not political [or divisive] in any way. People happily give their time, local merchants [surrender] their storefronts and music brings our town together. We need that these days.”
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A crowd gathers to watch the Grey Hill Gospel String Band play country bluegrass near Tuvalu
Mother Nature must have agreed, because Saturday welcomed the one rare day of continuous sun this spring, reinforcing the message that the Fête is our annual collective cure for June gloom.
The Fête de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, got its start in France in 1982. Since then, it’s spread to more than 1,000 cities across 120 countries. In the U.S. alone, 82 cities participate alongside Laguna Beach.
“An invitation to Beverly Hills to attend their first Fête started the idea of having a Sister City and the Fête in Laguna Beach,” said Founding President Karyn Philippsen. “After French Consulate assistance and the effort of residents Fred and Jennifer Karam, the original delegation traveled to Menton, France at their own expense to attend the official ceremony linking the two cities.”
Three years after Laguna’s first Fête, LBSC won “Best New Arts Program” at the annual Art Star Awards. “We have continued to improve the Fête experience each year,” Philippsen said, noting that the number of performance sites grew to as many as 40 locations over the years. This year, there were 35. “I feel proud that our devoted group passionately embraces the vision. It is really about being a global citizen. Everyone does something to make the Fête happen.”
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Karyn Philippsen, founding president of the LBSC and the Fête de la Musique, addresses the crowd at the kick-off party the night before the event
One key member who makes it happen is Fête Musique Chair Ken Aubuchon who, alongside Jean Fallowfield, has selected the entertainers for 11 years. Aubuchon scours the local music scene all year – including the Cliff, The Ranch and the Sawdust Festival – to unearth new talent. “Roughly three-quarters of the performers are returnees from either last year or a previous year,” Aubuchon said, noting longstanding artists like chanteuse April Walsh, classic rockers Jim & Warren, singer Lenelle Hamil, the Grey Hill Gospel String Band and JJ & the Habibis Belly Dancers. There were eight newcomers this year.
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JJ & the Habibis Laguna Beach Belly Dancers performed on the main stage. They’ve performed in the Fête for years.
“And how about Stacy Dumas, our French mime on roller skates? She interacted with people almost continuously, one of whom was me,” Aubuchon said, relaying how he got coaxed out to dance with Dumas. “That was an embarrassing moment. But she was outstanding and, at the end of the day, she was still going strong.”
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French mime and roller skater Stacy Dumas kept the crowd on their feet and dancing the whole afternoon
Aubuchon also noted that none of the performers gets paid, and the local merchants experience a decline in revenues that day because crowds focus more on the music than shopping. “Most store owners are very enthusiastic, even though it probably costs them money for the day,” he said. “But they do it out of community spirit and, if you take the long view, it’s helpful for the merchants to have people coming into town for music.”
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The musicians, too, take the long view, citing the benefits of this level of exposure, and the many gigs that come as a result. Six-time Fête singer JASZY Lady (Judi Simon), who performs annually with Ron Robbins at the Landmark Plaza in front of The Vault, said she’s booked several private gigs and performs at other venues around town because of her time at the Fête. But that’s not why she does it. “For me, to see people stop and dance – they’re in the moment. Music transcends. It brings people together and it’s a wonderful feeling to be a part of it,” she said.
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JASZY Lady (Judi Simon) has performed at the Fête six times, including at their on-line event held at the LBCAC during COVID
Laguna Tenor Rick Weber, who’s performed in seven Fêtes so far, cited two standout moments from this year. “While I am so honored to open the Fête with our National Anthem (that’s pretty dang special!), my favorite moment was at the very end of the Fête,” he said. “Shelton [Taylor] was playing across the street from me, in front of the Kush Gallery. I went to say good-bye and congratulate him on a great show, and he asked me to join him in singing ‘Fly Me to the Moon.’”
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Laguna Tenor Rick Weber sang the National Anthem this year at the opening ceremony
Several performers, including Weber, credited Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center (LBCAC) founder Rick Conkey, who won this year’s Arts Patron of the Year at the LBAA Art Star Awards, for his role in their careers. “I owe a great debt of gratitude to Rick and the ‘village’ of people who support the LBCAC, where I am the proud host of ‘Opera ReImagined,’ a series that gives seasoned and up-and-coming opera talent an intimate venue to showcase their art,” said Weber.
“The Fête is an amazing forum for young artists to get some reach with the public,” Conkey said. “Artists who live here but don’t perform locally can perform in front of their friends and family. I love finding these hidden gems in our community.”
Conkey added, “It’s also nice to plug into an international cause. To be part of an International Day of Music makes us realize this is all for a larger purpose.”
Mayor Bob Whelan echoed that sentiment. “We celebrate it on the same day that it is celebrated around the world, which reminds us how we are all connected and how music can be a creative expression that speaks to all of us,” he said. “The talent of the musicians and the diversity of the music is extraordinary and transforms the Downtown for a very special afternoon.”
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Mayor Bob Whalen addressed the crowd at this year’s opening ceremony before April Walsh (background) sang the French National Anthem, “La Marseillaise”
The LBSC would like to acknowledge three key members of their Fête family who they lost this past year. Carol Reynolds, one of the Fête’s founders, passed away the morning after last year’s event.
“It warms my heart that I have such a marvelous, shared connection with such remarkable people,” said Philippsen. “Some are gone: Carol Reynolds and Larry Hicks, along with dear Richard Schwarzstein. Others have moved away and support from a distance (Sandy Smith) or slowed down (Fred Karam). But they are all a part of the marvelous original dream and history of devotion that started LBSC and the success of the Fête.”
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The LBSC paid tribute to Carol Reynolds at their annual pre-party festivities, honoring her memory and legacy
Although it takes a village to make days like this happen, the core group of Fête organizers numbers only around 15. “We’re all old,” Hempen said. “And we have pulled off a music festival! That’s usually a young person’s [domain]. It’s amazing how that magic is there. It’s just…magic.”
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Fête organizers and key members (Back row, L-R): Gary Jenkins, David Gorgie (as Elvis), Karyn Philippsen, Tony Hempen, Ed Postal, Maggie Hempen and Ken Aubuchon (Front row, L-R): Jean Fallowfield, Pat Kollenda and Betsy Jenkins
For more information on the LBSC or the Fête de la Musique, visit their website by clicking here. Mark your calendars for next year’s Fête scheduled for Saturday, June 15, 2024.
For more photos by Jeff Rovner, go to slideshow below:
