LIVE, IN PHOTOS: France’s Trans Musicales Festival (12/2–6/2015)

Every year in the provincial French town of Rennes, located west of Paris in Brittany, the locals put on Trans Musicales Festival, dedicated to showcasing up-and-coming international artists. The festival gave early boosts to everyone from Cabaret Voltaire and Fishbone to Björk and Portishead (and, in one hilarious edition, both Lenny Kravitz and Einstürzende Neubauten).

This year, our intrepid photographer Marc Lemoine made the trip halfway across the world from Los Angeles with one directive: to capture the sights and sounds of Trans Musicales 2015. His findings, along with a few of his impressions, are below.

Les Trans, as the locals like to call it, was one of the more organized festivals I have ever attended. The curation of artists was international and extremely eclectic. The festival took place at the Parc Expo—essentially a series of airplane hangars thirty minutes outside of town. For €3, a bus/shuttle service picks you up in Rennes and will take you to the Parc with service running continuously throughout the evening. Bands started around 8 p.m., with some acts taking the stage as late as 4 a.m. 

One enormous hangar was dedicated to food and drink, which meant a champagne bar, an oyster bar (where you could stuff your face for €6), Jamaican vegetarian cuisine, and finer French cuisine.

During the day there was some action in the convention center located in the center of Rennes. The press area lived here, the general public could obtain passes, and the local radio station broadcast live performances. The town of Rennes is an old, very quaint city, with plenty of markets, bars, and restaurants. With the festival held outside of town, the old world charm of Rennes is not compromised and allows for a completely different experience while exploring.