Toc Toc Bonjour

Toc Toc Bonjour: The Alternative Rock Festival of the Yonne

Knocking on the door of major festivals with a name as candid as a welcome word, this is the challenge that the associations Bobby Furax and Patchwork Mixture launched in September 2018 by inaugurating the Toc Toc Bonjour festival in Soucy, in the Yonne region. The festival takes up residence in a most unusual setting: the Ferme du Grand Béon, a former 12th-century farm converted into a cultural action center since the 1980s, nestled on the edge of the village of Soucy, about twelve kilometers from Sens.

Two days of immersion in the murky waters of alternative rock, garage, punk, psychedelic, and electro: this is what Toc Toc Bonjour offers at each back-to-school edition. The programming, resolutely focused on the French independent scene and emerging artists, brings together about fifteen bands on two to three stages—including an outdoor one in the farmyard—and attracts several hundred spectators each time from all over the Sénonais region and beyond.

Two Sénonais Associations Behind the Project

To create Toc Toc Bonjour, two organizations active in the cultural life of the Sénonais region joined forces and pooled their human and financial resources. Patchwork Mixture, founded in 2013, had already distinguished itself by creating innovative festivals like Deka. Bobby Furax, founded in 2015, had built its reputation by organizing the annual "Sens, la Capitale du Monde," an anthem night for local garage and punk rock, which has become a must-attend event in the Yonne.

Combining their respective expertise—musical knowledge, artist network, logistical management—allowed them to launch an ambitious two-day festival with limited associative resources but a keen sense of celebration and conviviality. The formula: affordable day passes (around €8 per day), free camping and parking, catering from local short-circuit producers, and programming that emphasizes artistic quality over headliners tailored for the mainstream media.

The Ferme du Grand Béon, an Extraordinary Venue

The Ferme du Grand Béon is much more than just a backdrop. This 12th-century building, located on the Route de Voisines in Soucy, has been a major cultural hub in the Yonne since the 1980s, primarily dedicated to dance and theater. Its conversion into a performing arts space has allowed it to host artistic residencies, workshops, shows, and classes throughout the year, under the direction of the Centre Culturel Marie-France Meunier.

During the Toc Toc Bonjour festival, the site features two covered stages inside the farm buildings and one outdoor stage in the courtyard, offering a capacity of approximately 400 people. The absence of barriers and industrial marquees, the rustic and warm character of the place—exposed beams, ancient stones, the Burgundian open air—give Toc Toc Bonjour an atmosphere radically different from standardized flatland festivals.

The site is accessible by car from Sens (12 km) and from the A5 motorway, with free parking on site. A camping area is also available for festival-goers wishing to spend the night on the premises, at no extra charge.

A Rock, Garage, Punk, and Psychedelic Program

The artistic line of Toc Toc Bonjour is defined by a declared commitment to independent music and alternative scenes. Each edition features about fifteen bands, whose selection reveals a beautiful diversity within the broad rock family: experimental and psychedelic rock, acid garage, unbridled punk, cold or warm electro, hallucinated folk...

The first edition, in September 2018, featured a remarkable lineup including Forever Pavot (baroque pop at the crossroads of Morricone and sixties garage), Johnny Mafia (blazing garage punk, already tipped as one of the best French rock bands of their generation), Rendez-vous (hypnotic electronic coldwave), Dr Chan (uninhibited garage rap), Ropoporose, and the acrobatic one-man band Mr Marcaille, who simultaneously juggles cello and drums. Fourteen bands performed on the stages in front of over 300 spectators for this inaugural edition.

Beyond the Concerts: A Program of Musical Encounters

Toc Toc Bonjour is not just a succession of sets. From the very first edition, the festival has incorporated more unusual formats to diversify the festival experience:

• Sound Naps: Intimate acoustic concerts designed to be listened to while lying down on cushions, between electric sets.
• Giant Blind Test: Friendly musical game sessions that bring together festival-goers and artists in a lively bar atmosphere.
• Music Workshops: Moments of practice and discovery led by artists from the festival.
• Local Catering: Producers and artisans from the Sénonais region offer food and drinks sourced from short circuits, in the spirit of an open-air market.

A Small but High-Quality Rural Festival

Toc Toc Bonjour is a human-sized festival. Its limited capacity of around 400 spectators makes it a privileged meeting place where the public can easily encounter artists, chat after concerts, and share a meal in the farm courtyard. This proximity between stage and audience, rare in large festival events, is a founding value of the project.

The festival is part of a broader dynamic to structure the alternative music scene in the Sénonais region. Outside of the festival, the Bobby Furax association continues to animate local musical life through regular concert evenings, while Patchwork Mixture develops other cultural projects in the Yonne. Together, they contribute to making Soucy and the Sénonais a territory where alternative music has its place, far from Paris but at the heart of living creation.

Key Festival Information

• Created in 2018 by the associations Patchwork Mixture and Bobby Furax
• Location: Ferme du Grand Béon, Route de Voisines, 89100 Soucy
• Format: 2 days in September, 2 to 3 stages including an outdoor one
• Capacity: approximately 400 people
• Styles: alternative rock, garage, punk, psychedelic, electro
• Free camping and parking
• Catering from local short circuits
• Day passes from €8