Les Nuits Secretes (Aulnoye-Aymeries, France) 2027

Les Nuits Secretes returns to Aulnoye-Aymeries in the Hauts-de-France region from 23 to 25 July 2027, with the organisers putting a three day pass on sale at 90 euros. The festival has run since 2002 in this small town in the Avesnois, close to the Belgian border, and is operated by a local non profit association rather than a commercial promoter.

Its signature is the parcours secrets, a set of secret routes that take small groups of festivalgoers to unannounced performances in locations around the town and the surrounding countryside: gardens, factories, churches and private houses. Those sit alongside the main stages, which book across French and international pop, rock, hip hop and electronic music. There is also a Nuits Douces strand of quieter daytime programming and a campsite run for the duration.

The 2027 bill had not been announced at the time of writing, with the organisers selling the pass before the line up as they usually do. Aulnoye-Aymeries sits on the Lille to Charleville-Mezieres line with its own station, and Lille is about an hour away by train. For a festival that spends as much energy on where it puts the music as on who plays it, this is an unusual French music festival.