Paris Underground: Where Buskers Become Superstars
If you’ve heard music in the Paris métro, you might have been listening to the next Zaz.
Since 1997, the RATP (the direct operator of the métro and of other city transit services) has run an official audition program for metro musicians. Not buskers, but actual selected performers with branded backdrops and career development support. Only 300 make the cut each year from hundreds of applicants.
The alumni list reads like a French pop chart: Zaz, Keziah Jones, Irma, Claudio Capéo. They started in the corridors at Bastille or République, got noticed, and graduated to Lollapalooza and Solidays.
Where to find them:
- Bastille — jazz combos and pop-soul artists
- République — soul and folk singers
- Châtelet — opera singers
- Gare de Lyon — rock bands
Next time you’re rushing through a station and hear something good, stop. You might be watching someone’s career launch.
The RATP knows what they’re doing — they’ve been scouting talent in tunnels for almost 30 years.
(Source: RATP blog)
Here's a fun connection! RATP Dev (their international subsidiary) operates transit systems all over the world, including parts of DC’s bus system. They’re in something like 15 countries now.
It’s one of those “wait, what?” moments when you realize the same organization running the métro at Bastille has also run buses in Washington DC, London, and a dozen other cities. Very different vibe from the romantic Paris brand.
The métro's vetted musicians are just a tiny part of the music that's available in Paris. Every June, there's Music Day (Fête de la Musique), when musical groups ranging from small and unofficial to large and official (I saw a terrific concert by the Navy's orchestra one year at the École Militaire).
At any time, look in l’Officiel des Spectacles (Shows and Outings in Paris • The Official Guide to Shows) for concerts. It's French, but beginners can figure it out.
Thanks for reading Part-Time Parisian.
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