If you’re tired of music festivals that require you to endure muddy mosh pits, stifling tents and rapaciously priced bottles of water, consider an escape to the plunging cliffs, turquoise waters and weathered citadels of Corsica. Every year, amid this Mediterranean island’s gorgeous surroundings, musicians gather under the stars for Les Nuits de la Guitare .
Since its humble beginnings more than 20 years ago in the hillside village of Patrimonio, the event has brought together virtuosos such as Gilberto Gil, Elvis Costello and John McLaughlin in a shared passion for strings. From July 16 to 23, the ardor continues at an open-air theater in the company of legendary jazz-fusion group Return to Forever, ’60s icons the Beach Boys, Romanian cimbalom master Giani Lincan and Russian balalaika player Aleksei Arkhipovsky.
Book yourself accommodation either in Patrimonio or in the waterfront town of St. Florent, about 6 km away, and prepare for some real magic. As festival co-founder and director Jean-Bernard Gilormini says, “The warmth of the public and the beauty of the place combine to push musicians to give out their best.”
See festival-guitare-patrimonio.com for more.
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