Disjoncté — Music Festival Without Electricity

A festival that ended after six editions

The announcement page for the September 14, 2024, edition already warned: "This is very likely to be the LAST EDITION!" When later asked on Facebook by a festival-goer who suggested switching to a paid entry model, the association ruled out financial reasons: "It is not for financial reasons that the festival is ending [...] it is because our life paths are moving away from this project. The entire Grive la Braillarde association will stop in 2025, not just Le Disjoncté." The homepage of their website has since carried their farewell message: "We've had a great run that lasted nearly 10 years. [...] It's up to you to carry the torch and candles [...] We are taking our final bow!" The site has not been updated since October 2024.

Zero electricity, one hundred percent acoustic

There was only one rule, but it was absolute: no electricity on-site, not for instruments, lights, or refrigerators. Drinks were chilled in ice buckets, and the lakeside was illuminated by torches and candles—2,500 candles and 3 stages in 2023, with 1,000 fires and 5,000 candles announced for 2024. Bands played acoustically, and the audience wandered from one musical spot to another. Admission was free.

The program remained a secret until the evening itself. Printed programs were distributed on-site at the entrance and bar, and posted online on the website, Facebook, and Instagram early in the evening.

The six editions

• 2019 — 1st edition, "All eccentricity, all without electricity." Originally announced for Saturday, May 11, it was canceled due to rain ("The rain got the better of the candles, the cold extinguished the magic"), then rescheduled for Saturday, September 14, from 7:00 PM to 2:00 AM. Lineup revealed afterward: Freestyle MB (batucada), Gimmick Five Syndicate (brass band), Ki-Bongo, David Snug (from Trotski Nautique), Breaking Tag. 1,500 people attended. Pizzas served by the Dépaysantes association.
• 2020 — 2nd edition, "Without static... electricity!". An intimate version forced by Covid: the audience was seated in circles of ten around candles, music moved between the circles, and drinks were brought by volunteers. By reservation only at €2, this was the only non-free edition. The program included: Spartakistes (rebetiko trio), Anna Boulic (harp), Bluemary Swing, Tulle Paillettes Club (guitar/vocal duo), the activist choir from Uzerche, and the Samba Garage batucada. 48 volunteers, 1,400 glass yogurt pots collected for the candles.
• 2021 — Canceled edition. Scheduled for September, canceled twice due to rain and postponed to the following spring.
• May 21, 2022 — 3rd edition, "In Lac Minor", starting at 7:30 PM. A postponement of the September 2021 edition, themed around the piano. Return to free admission, four food stalls.
• September 10, 2022 — 4th edition, "Completely Struck", at 7:30 PM, centered on percussion, with a percussive jam session as the grand finale. Two Disjonctés in the same year.
• September 2, 2023 — 5th edition, "What's That Thing?!", from 7:00 PM to 2:00 AM. On-site: a bar, 8 food stalls, an info point, a lost children's totem, a kids' corner, 2,500 candles, 3 stages, 8 bands, 7 hours of music. Stalls run by La Dépaysante, l'Éléphant Rose, La Ferme du P'ti Bonheur, the MY.MO food truck, Radismoon, Le Petit Marquisat, Grive la Braillarde, and KrêpOsuk.
• September 14, 2024 — 6th and final edition, "The Edition That Goes 'Pouet'!", from 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM. A participatory edition: everyone was asked to bring a glass yogurt pot, a tea light, and a lighter, and to practice Niagara's "L'Amour à la plage." Nine local food stalls, craft beers, and local soft drinks.

The final edition program — Saturday, September 14, 2024

The association posted it online that same evening, as they did every year. Here it is in full.

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

• 6:00 PM — Kannibal Trash (ethno-fun music) · Point 1
• 6:30 PM — Welcome Wendy (American groove) · Point 2
• 6:45 PM — Fanfare d'Occasion (musico-spatial improvisation) · Entrance Arch
• 7:00 PM — Laboratoire Boyron (trombone-filled grab bag) · Point 3
• 7:30 PM — "The 'Pouet' Blind Test" · Point 1
• 7:30 PM — Abus de Souffle (Mediterranean jazz) · Point 2
• 8:00 PM — L'Orchestre en Carton (actually made of brass), set 1 · Point 3
• 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM — DIY Area: making objects used later in the evening · Point 4
• 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM — Games Area · Point 5

8:30 PM – 9:21 PM · "Play with fire"

• 8:45 PM — Souza Kagibi · on the lake
• Release of floating "flowers" made at Point 4 · on the lake
• Hanging of the luminous "nests" made at Point 4 · Point 6
• Free light expression zone (red circle): collective drawings with candles distributed at the entrance
• Collective lighting of candles across the entire site

9:21 PM – 9:30 PM · The 9 minutes you can't miss

• Fireworks — "The lake is on fire!" · Point 1
• Collective happening "L'Amour à la plage," with kazoos and guiros made at Point 4, by Cie Virus · Point 1

9:30 PM – 1:00 AM

• 9:30 PM — Fülü (Latin bomb) · Point 1
• 9:45 PM — L'Orchestre en Carton, set 2 · Point 3
• 10:30 PM — Souza Kagibi (Périgord-Brazilian vibrations) · Point 1
• 12:15 AM — Fanfare de la Manu (trad, but not traditional) · Point 1
• "Saturday Light Fever," light-filled visual break · Point 6