Festival Beauregard

The full line-up for this summer's Festival Beauregard - a four day event in Normandy - has been unveiled, with some great names playing this year.

Depeche Mode are at the top of the bill, which is kind of a big deal, and also at the top are Jack White, The Offspring and Macklemore.

While international acts seem to dominate the top places, there are plenty of French acts throughout, with some of France's most interesting artists taking part.

Orelsan and Nekfeu are two rappers at the top of their game right now, and both are playing. Charlotte Gainsbourg, while a very different artist, is also enjoying something of a critical and commercial glow at the moment on the back of her recent album.

Also on the bill are Girls in Hawaii, Petit Biscuit, Hollysiz and Carpenter Brut. All artists that have been mentioned here in the past, all well worth seeing and all delivering strong new material in recent months.

It remains a difficult economic time for festivals, with competing events taking place over a crowded summer season and prices increasing, but organisers who select the acts well can still succeed and a good mix of respected French acts and some big name international acts is a pretty decent mix for an event line Beauregard.

Its location - close enough to the UK for a weekend visit - and its ticket prices that compare favourably to similar events in the UK makes Beauregard a real proposition for British music fans. Let's not forget it's in France, the weather will be better and the atmosphere will be pretty fine as well.

This year marks the festival's tenth anniversary, and while that might make it a comparative new event compared to some of France's other music festivals, it's certainly proved there is a place for it in the French summer music events schedule.