Rock en Seine: Chappell Roan, Doechii and the Kneecap controversies on the program

Pop phenomenon Chappell Roan , rap rookie Doechii and rock veterans Queens of the Stone Age : a contingent of American stars will arrive at Rock en Seine on Wednesday, for five days, which will be rounded off by Northern Irish troublemakers Kneecap.

With her fiery hair and drag queen vibe, 27-year-old Missouri-born singer Chappell Roan was only supposed to be one of the acts at the flagship late-summer festival, which runs until Sunday at the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, near Paris. But " her upward trajectory has changed the way she's perceived and seen in the program ," Matthieu Ducos, director of Rock en Seine, told AFP, describing it as a " crazy phenomenon ." The Pink Pony Club singer is one of a lineup of female artists who have launched Rock en Seine since the opening night: Billie Eilish for the 20th anniversary in 2023 and Lana Del Rey in Olympic form last year, in the middle of the Olympics.

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With a budget of between 16 and 17 million euros, the festival knows how to attract international stars, but must also deal with uncertainties such as the cancellation of ASAP Rocky , who has withdrawn from several European festivals. Kid Cudi, another successful American rapper ( Day 'N' Nite ), will replace him. On the rap side, another performance will be scrutinized: Doechii, the new ambassador of US rap who is a hit with Anxiety and received the Grammy for best rap album of the year, will be offering her first festival in France. Careful sets, choreography and punchlines are to be expected. The electro stage promises immersion with images and lights galore, between the Italian-American DJ Anyma, the French duo Justice, levitating since its winning return with Hyperdrama . Rock en Seine also continues to honor its name, with the presence of Queens of the Stone Age . Josh Homme's unsinkable band - almost 30 years old - will be roaring with guitars on Sunday, eleven years after their last visit to Saint-Cloud.

This final day features a concert by the punk rap trio Kneecap : still relatively unknown a few months ago, the Belfast troublemakers have enjoyed increased visibility since making each concert a platform for the Palestinian cause. At the Glastonbury Festival in late June, the group accused Israel of being a " war criminal " state. One of its three members, Liam O'Hanna, known as Mo Chara, is being prosecuted for a " terrorist offense " after displaying a Hezbollah flag during a concert in London in 2024. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday in the British capital. In this context, the city of Saint-Cloud has withdrawn its €40,000 grant to Rock en Seine, a first.

Also read: The city of Saint-Cloud withdraws its subsidy from Rock en Seine due to the presence of the Kneecap group

" At a time when the controversies were starting to escalate, obviously we were asking ourselves the question (of keeping the band, editor's note)," confides Matthieu Ducos, emphasizing that the organization analyzed everything. In France, the group played at the Eurockéennes in Belfort and the Cabaret Vert in Charleville-Mézières, apparently without incident. " The conclusion was that yes, it still had its place at the festival. Despite a certain number of red lines that some people thought might have been crossed, in our opinion they were not sufficiently proven or repetitive," he argues. Discussions took place with the artists' entourage to clarify their positions and the organization received confirmation that there would be no excesses during the concert, according to the director.

Attracting some 40,000 spectators per day, Rock en Seine is owned by the American live giant AEG and Combat, a group owned by French businessman Matthieu Pigasse . This tandem bought We Love Green, another Paris region festival, in July. A left-wing activist, Mr. Pigasse defended Kneecap's presence, seeing it as an issue of freedom of creation and expression: "We must not accept the principle of censorship, because otherwise, it will be a wave that will hit festivals and the media," he told the music media Billboard.