In Montpellier, the Palmarosa rock festival struggles to fill up

Gossip, Phoenix and Tom Odell are among the fifteen groups expected from August 23 to 25. To attract a wider audience, ticket prices have been reduced.

There is concern two weeks before the opening of the third edition of the Palmarosa Festival in Montpellier, which will host around twenty artists. Starting Friday 23 August, rendezvous with the French pop rock group Phoenix. With 4 000 spectators for the very first edition in 2022, 8 000 in 2023, did the organizers see too big by counting on 18? 000 entries this year ? In any case, they decided to slash prices in the hope of attracting 8 people every evening 000 festival-goers.

The poster is nevertheless enticing. Gossip, which in March signed its return after 12 years of absence with his new album Real Power, will occur on the 24th August. The Vaccines or Bandit Bandit will also take to the stage set up in the heart of the Gramont estate. Sunday 25 August, Tom Odell or The Kills are expected.

Like other cultural events, Palmarosa has to deal with a very restrictive socio-economic context. Between the purchasing power in decline and the competition of the Paris Olympic Games, the ticketing is not working. In a budget, cultural outings are often the first cuts. At 60 euros each, the notes do not seem attractive.

“We had a lot of feedback from festival-goers who (the ticket) was a constraint and an impossibility. We have always wanted to open up culture to as many people as possible. We are obliged to reduce prices in order to save Palmarosa“, explains John Bertrand, the festival director. In its new offering, theThe day ticket goes up to 39 euros, pass 2 days to 75 euros and pass 3 days at 108 euros : an affordable price for an indie-pop rock program of around fifteen groups.

The organizers spent half of their budget on artist fees, or 650 000 euros. An item of expenditure that continues to increase.We have been experiencing real inflation for about fifteen years, since the advent of streaming platforms where record sales have dropped considerably. The real resources of artists are now the live. So we have a real inflation on fees”, emphasizes the festival manager.

Organizers hope that lower ticket prices will boost sales, making the event viable for a third year. The 8 000 People who have already purchased their ticket at full price will benefit from a 20% discount. euros on site.

Palmarosa Festival at the Grammont Castle Park, from 23 to 25 August 2024, 2733B avenue Albert Einstein, 34000 Montpellier.