Les Ondées

A festival born from student passion

The Les Ondées project was conceived at the end of the Covid crisis in 2021, built from scratch by students from the Information-Communication department of Campus 3 in Ifs at the University of Caen Normandy. Matthias Fichet, co-founder, along with Lila, Lucie, and Baptiste, decided to take over the student association ACT'Ifs Campus 3 with the ambition of creating a cultural and musical event capable of uniting the University's students. The festival was born out of a shared frustration: the lack of major cultural events in the city.

Le Cargö, the festival's setting

Since its first edition in June 2022, Les Ondées has been held at Le Cargö, a contemporary music venue in Caen labeled SMAC. The 1,300-seat venue hosts evening concerts, while the Cargö esplanade hosts the cultural village during the day, a space for discovery and meeting with Caen's university and creative life, with free access.

A program focused on emerging talent

Les Ondées showcases emerging artists, offering a program that mixes rap, pop, electro, bouyon, and hybrid music. In 2025, the festival hosted Danyl and his future-forward rai'n'b, BLOU FEET, Redhead oscillating between hyperpop and rock, Ajna with sensitive rap, EDGE, s7un, Sherifflazone, and Theodora.

Rapid growth

After selling out in 2024, Les Ondées expanded from one to two days in 2025, with eight concerts spread across Friday and Saturday evenings. In three editions, the student festival has established itself as a leading musical and cultural event for students in Caen and beyond, driven by about thirty volunteers.