La Fete de la Musique

This weekend, I went to La Fete de la Musique (The Festival of Music) that was hosted at the French Embassy in DC. The Embassy is an enormous concrete compound, taking up more space than I even thought there was in the whole District. Having come here once some years ago to pick up my student visa, I'd never have imagined that outside its staid, bureaucratic walls could be a carefree summer festival. So I was stunned, and I was happy. Bands were set up all around the hills, and as we walked by we heard a band playing world music, a DJ spinning funk, a cover band singing american songs in a french accent, and people singing along and dancing. Inside the embassy there was more music: an old-time jazz orchestra, people swing dancing, an a cappella singing group, and a jazz trio with bass, piano, and fiddle (my personal favorite of the evening). I was amazed by those guys. Aside from the jazz trio, the other best part of the evening were the flamethrowers. They fought with flaming swords. I was again, of course, blown away.

The DJ in the courtyard:

A video of the flaming sword fight:

From Fete de la Musique