Hurrah! A new festival is born! His godfather, Philippe Manoeuvre, was the first to announce the news, in one of his enthusiastic editorials of which he has the secret. "Make the chic resort a new musical destination. From its first edition, by its breathtaking poster, it seems that United Music Of Deauville will be a success" he writes.
The programming of the event, which will be held from 17 to 21 May in Deauville, is truly impressive, in its diversity as in its choices. From the very chic Julien Clerc and Juliette Armanet to the jazzmen that are Avishai Cohen and Ibrahim Maalouf, United Music of Deauville is a matter for great pros. Except that none of the leaders of the operation is a music professional. Proof that passion and energy are powerful drivers.
What caught our eye in particular within the program was the Burt Bacharach party, scheduled for May 19. An exceptional dinner-show, with 23 musicians, 7 gospel singers and 6 artists who will pay tribute to the brilliant composer, who died last January. "Of course, we started preparing for this evening while he was still alive. He had also agreed to participate, remotely, via a video recording," recalls Van, one of the three partners. "I'm not into showbiz at all, I work in advertising for luxury brands, but what brings us together is the love of music." An amateur guitarist, he shares this passion with Richard, who also plays as an amateur, and Frédéric, who is more comfortable with a tennis racket. "At a dinner together, we talked about the Swingin in Deauville festival, which brought together Earth Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang, Al Jarreau and George Benson, and said 'let's put it back'. We started at 3000 km/h." recalls the latter. That was at the end of last August. While setting up such an operation usually requires between 18 months and 2 years, the three friends will be ready by the end of the month. For this, Richard reactivated the company What We Like Production, launched in 2006, which had allowed him to produce a few concerts (Michael McDonald, America or Jose Feliciano).
With the energy of three student entrepreneurs, the trio signs a festival with pacifist virtues. "We're too young to be hippies, but if there's one thing that brings people together, it's music." A lot of joy and complicity circulate between the three protagonists of this event, who do not take themselves seriously but have the concern for a job well done. Eclectic in their open tastes - from the Doobie Brothers to the Arctic Monkeys - they do not forbid anything for the rest of the operations. "We're starting with Deauville, but why not imagine a United Music of Joni Mitchell one day," Van said.
For now, the town hall has made available to them 5 days and 6 places to make Deauville vibrate from morning to evening. Frédéric, the local of the stage, is pleased to invest beautiful rooms throughout the weekend of the Ascension. Richard is proud to have worked directly with the artists, without going through their agents. "When Stacey Kent was asked to participate in the tribute to Bacharach, she said 'I can't miss this' and made herself available." Van imagined reconstituting a giant Fender amp of 4 meters by 3 in order to be instagramed at will. And the three friends proposed to Jean-Charles Dupuis, historic DJ of the Bus Palladium, to animate a special evening. Long live United Music of Deauville!
