Lollapalooza, international giant

Every weekend this summer, we explore the major popular music gatherings in France. Today, a festival of American origin, based in Paris and capable of presenting unique events of globalized pop, took place from July 18th to 20th.

This moment is perhaps the most beautiful moment of a festival – or not, it depends. Benson Boone is twenty-three years old and no one can say what will happen next in his career, currently powerful here and there around the world, including in French colleges – even if this song, Mystical Magical, did not go higher than ^89th place in the singles chart in France.

But that's what a festival is: you're overjoyed to see artists you think you're the only one to like and you count yourself among thousands of others and then, a while later, you go hang out at the bar because - no, darling, not them - or you discover that it's actually pretty good.

In this episode of Festival Stories , you hear excerpts from:

Benson Boone, Mystical Magical, 2025

IVE, Rebel Heart, 2025

Jane's Addiction, Stop!, 1990

Nine Inch Nail, Head Like a Hole, 1990

Siouxsie & the Banshees, Kiss Them For Me, 1991

Body Count, Body Count's In the House, 1992

Olivia Rodrigo, So American, 2025

Justin Timberlake, Cry Me A River, 2025

You can also follow the news of this column on BlueSky and on X (ex-Twitter).