“Femmes, je vous aime” – Julien Clerc is not scheduled to play in this 29^th edition of the Fête de la Musique, but his song perfectly sums up the spirit of 21 June 2010. Women played the role of privileged muse and audience for centuries before they made it to the front stage. Men were able to be professional musicians, but for the fairer sex, music was relegated to a simple hobby. The first women to dare enter the music scene had to fight hard to be recognized as performers, musicians or composers. Although the theme might seem dated in France today, the Hall de la Chanson has had the good idea of producing a detailed retrospective of the relationship between women and music. A brief introduction to the evening follows….

Like every other year, the theme has not been sufficiently made known. Official concerts include those organised in the Palais Royal gardens by the Ministry of Culture, which will include a performance by the earthshaking flamenco singer Buika. In Ouagadougou (Burkino Faso), the Georges-Méliès French Cultural Centre and the Reemdoogo Music Garden are preparing an evening totally dedicated to female artists, including saxophonists Naky Zerbo and Djata Ilebou.

In a completely different vein, the town of Thoiry (in the Ain) is organising a huge “Female Music Special” karaoke in the town square from 9 p.m. And if you are tempted to play something yourself, the Fête de la Musique website provides the music scores of some emblematic (but rather dated) artists, like Fréhel and Mistinguett.

The catchphrase for the shortest night of the year has to be, “Make music”. As usual, music academies around France will be trying to prove that learning music theory can be fun, and company choral societies will be trying to make their voices heard. 21 June will also provide the chance to hit upon a good night out round a corner or in a town, encouraging us to drop virtual social networking and live a bit of “real life”.

One example is the town of Oyonnax, which has had the excellent idea of inviting five brass bands (including the Fanfare en costard – or brass band in suits), to blow to their heart’s content in rue Anatole France from 5 p.m. Town centres are once again likely to be jammed with traffic, especially close to the Place du Parlement in Rennes, where the town is organising a “World Meeting” featuring eight groups ranging from Indian music to salsa.

Even though the event is mostly aimed at amateurs, some bill-toppers will be making an appearance. Pigalle will be celebrating its new line-up in Valenciennes. In Paris’s place Denfert Rochereau, Curry & Coco, Jil Is Lucky and Hugh Coltman will be performing. The Château de Vincennes is proposing an Africa Pop evening with Alpha Blondy, Amadou & Mariam and Victor Démé, and Jeanne Cherhal and Revolver will be playing in front of the city hall in Neuilly-sur-Seine. But all of this is small fry compared to the evening planned by the medieval town of Carcassonne, where you can listen to Diam’s, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Christophe Mae, Stromae and Pony Pony Run Run. The artists will mainly be there, it has to be said, to record Taratata, a musical programme produced by the French state television station, France 2.

The event has now become hugely celebrated round the world, with Matthieu Chédid, alias M performing in Shanghai, China, where he will be playing a one-off concert in the Universal Exhibition’s EU Pavilion.

On another continent, the Libreville French Cultural Centre will mark the event early on 19 June, gathering tenors from the sixties like Pierre Claver Akendengue and Prince Martin Rompavet to return to the roots of Gabonese music. Tunisia will celebrate a bit later, when Caravan Palace perform their Parisian electro swing on 23 June inside the historic fort in the municipality of La Goulette. The Fête de la Musique will also be taking place a bit late in Cairo, on 23 and 24 June, notably featuring the young Hindi Zahra (French Centre for Culture and Cooperation). And as late as 26 June, Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, will host the Congolese Lokua Kanza, who has been a resident of the Latin American country for several years.

North America will also be following the French lead. New York, a town that loves putting on events, will be staging no less than a thousand concerts, including performances by Sébastien Schuller and la Grande Sophie on 21 June at the HIRO club. Not to be outdone, the Quebecois capital Montreal is organising a Fête de la Musique lasting four days (and nights).

The sheer scale of these events cuts a contrast with some. For example, Nilda Fernandez’s performance planned to take place in Tachkent, Uzbekistan. Given the current political turmoil in neighbouring Kirghizstan, the singer may not be able to perform with four local musicians in the Navoi Opera Theatre. Which just goes to show that on 21 June 2010, not everyone will be thinking about music – or even football.