As the sun went down early in the French city of Rennes, people made their way to the city’s Parc des Expositions for the 2025 edition of Les Trans Musicales. A renowned festival known for its special lineups focusing on finding hidden gems before they blow up. Doing so before with artists like Nirvana, Daft Punk, Bjork, Jamiroquai, Portishead, Justice and many others. Every early December, the festival lights up the city with concerts all over its streets and bars before festival night starts in the Parc des Expositions, a refreshing week in an early winter.
The festival started on Thursday, a calmer day as it was not the weekend yet, almost like a warmup. The first set of the festival was Californian artists Litronix, blending electric guitar, electronic music, loops and synth pop. A surprisingly energetic set and crowd for an early start to the festival. This energy wouldn’t die down as the headliner for the day was up next. Soul pop artist Obongjayar took the stage by storm, not wasting a single second. Jumping, singing, dancing and the crowd gave back every bit of energy. This wasn’t just a concert, it was a celebration, a moment out of time. Playing his most known songs such as ‘Just Cool’, ‘Just My Luck’ and songs from his last album, he would wrap up what would be one of the most anticipated sets of the whole festival. Closing this first day was British band Mandrake Handshake, describing their music as “Flowerkraut” blending flower power hippies and 70s German “krautrock”, the band hypnotised the crowd with their wide range of instruments, breathtaking guitar solos and poetic lyrics.
The weekend finally started on Friday night, as the festival grounds were packed with people looking to enjoy some music. The day started with Ssadcharlie, growing up in the rich music scene of Bristol, the British artist put on an absolute show. Backed by a live band and blending rap and punk, his raw voice and lyrics shook a lively crowd. An amazing performance acting as a testament to Ssadcharlie’s talent.
Next up was Descartes A Kant, with their science fiction like stage setup and outfits the band welcomed the crowd in their universe. In a cinematic set mixing high energy performance and storytelling the band approached themes of depression, with the “After Destruction program”, which gave its name to their last album, that you should definitely give a listen to, “Turning your pain into a work of art”. This program would be the spine of the performance, linking songs between each other and progressively going from depression to a new start. With its robotic voice it would guide the “user” through the set, guitars resonated and people jumped, the singer even going into the crowd, coming back just in time for her verse. The energy would only rise reaching its peak during the last three songs ending the set on a good note, as the singer said “if your 2025 was as bad as mine let’s make next year better”.
Rock would continue to be the leading genre of the night as My First Time took the stage, coming once again from Bristol, the band wouldn’t waste a second as during the first song, the singer went into the pit to sing directly to the crowd. With a nonchalant and arrogant attitude that made him the perfect frontman, the singer would absolutely convince the crowd. Inspired by other British bands like Blur or Arctic Monkeys, My First Time put on an absolute show. The band would break the barrier between them and the crowd singing to them, forming mosh pits as crowd surfers slowly drifted to the front. An energetic end to this second day.
People made their way to the festival grounds as the sun went down, barely recovered from last night, people were ready to give it their all one last time. One of the headliners of the festival, Italian disco-electro artists Mind Enterprise embodied the energy that would rule this day. In a festive set the duo would play their most well known songs like ‘Monogamy’ and ‘Idol’ to a vibrant crowd. As people changed stages, the style would completely change as The Family Men started their set. The industrial metal/punk band played with distorted sounds, vocals and instruments. A purposefully broken mic giving the singer’s scream even more emotion. Crowdsurfers rushed to the front as the heavy guitar riffs resonated through the festival halls. Playing songs from their last album No Sound Forever The Family Men would give it their all for this performance. A complete change of pace from the previous band, and from the next one as Dolphin Hyperspace took another stage. The saxophone and bass duo were on fire, solos after solos both of them showing breathtaking talent over their instrument. A celebration that both the band and the crowd truly enjoyed, almost like a farewell to three days of communion around music in the unforgettable 2025 Trans Musicales.
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Written by: Leny Munier
Photographed by: Leny Munier
Edited by: Sabine de Graaf
