So Frenchy So Chic first came about as a compilation album in 2005, with the intention to showcase the contemporary French music scene. Fast forward just over a decade and in 2018 So Frenchy So Chic is a music festival that takes place across the country, celebrating French music, food, and joie de vivre.

Founder Jean-François Ponthieux has been behind the scenes since 2007. He explains that he was given the opportunity to bring the CDs to life through Mix It Up, a multicultural program for live music at the Art Centre in Melbourne at the time. “It was my first live experience as a promoter, and I got hooked”, Ponthieux says. “Both shows were a sold out success”.

Ponthieux explains that the garden party idea came later. “I realised during this period that my audience wanted to discover music in a different setting. The idea of a garden party was born”. In 2012, the festival started in Melbourne, launching in Sydney in 2014, and 2018 will be its first year in Adelaide.

The line up for the festival is packed with contemporary French gems with Ponthieux specially curating the day to create an eclectic aural experience. You can expect to hear music from the likes of Féfé, with Afro-inspired beats, General Elektriks, a collaboration that promises funk-meets-jazz grooves, and Juniore, described as “the lost connection between fashion, surf, psychedelic pop, spaghetti westerns and the nouvelle vague film movement”.

So French So Chic has grown far beyond the compilation album and showcases cultural diversity in a way that most mainstream other festivals do not. However, it will fit right in in Adelaide. Ponthieux has made the annual pilgrimage to WOMADelaide since 2005, and says this made Adelaide the obvious choice for the festival’s next step. “I’ve seen the city change and I have become fond of it. Adelaide residents appreciate the good things in life.” And don’t we just.

So Frenchy So Chic will kick off the Adelaide Festival Centre’s French Festival on the 12th of January next year at Pinky Flat. As first timers, Ponthieux recommends that we be open to discovering new music and a contemporary take on France. And, most importantly, “enjoy the moment, as good times are precious”.

Early bird and first release tickets are already gone! Act fast, get your tickets here.

– Natalie Carfora