The Saturday evening concert* is always eagerly awaited by the crowd at the 24 Heures Motos. For the 40th anniversary race, the Matmatah group will take possession of the 24 Heures Motos stage in the heart of the village in front of the Restaurant de la Courbe for what will be a unique evening.
After nine years’ absence the group from Brest announced last September that it would be back on the stage in 2017 for a tour taking in the whole of France. While numerous concerts are already sold out, Matmatah and the ACO have grabbed the headlines by announcing the only date in the Sarthe during the 24 Heures Motos weekend.
This French rock and folk group, founded at Brest in 1995 by Tristan Nihouarn (Stan) and Cédric Floc'h (Sammy), was joined by double bass player Éric Digaire and drummer Fañch and they performed under the name Matmatah. They enjoyed nation-wide success with their album La Ouache that came out in 1998 with hits like Lambé An Dro, Les Moutons and Emma that flew the Breton colours with rock/Celtic melodies.
The group then more or less gave up Breton sounds for more rock-like music and brought out Rebelote in 2001, Archie Kramer in 2004 with the hit Au Condionnel followed by La Cerise in 2007, and enjoyed another major success with the eponymous single (La cerise).
After 13 years the group broke up in 2008 at the end of a farewell tour. In September 2016, guitarist Emmanuel Baroux joined up with Tristan Nihouarn, Eric Digaire and Benoît Fournier who announced that Matmatah would be reformed for new concerts in 2017 including the exceptional gig at the 24 Heures Motos.
Christophe Guyot, team manager of GMT 94 and a keen rock enthusiast, is delighted with this announcement. “Endurance and rock have a common DNA. The excitement, the spirit and the values are similar. This is why everybody always looks forward to the 24 Heures Motos concert. Even if you’re completely caught up in the race at that moment, you know that the sounds of the guitars and the bikes are thrilling the spectators to the core. The 24 Heures Motos are both an exceptional sporting challenge and a great celebration of the motorbike for fans and ordinary spectators alike. Matmatah will bring its Breton music to Le Mans while still remaining a fabulous rock group that’s on a par with the event.”
So no time to lose to reserve your ticket for the 24 Heures Motos at the pre-sale price of 55€ (instead 68€), to experience a race that looks like being a hotly-contested one, as well as a concert that will certainly be the key ingredient of the party!
* Free for entrance ticket holders and people under 16 years of age accompanied by an adult.