Paleo: The Official Version

After last year’s bill was leaked before the scheduled press conference, Switzerland’s Paleo Nyon Festival organisers were no doubt relieved to have kept this year’s lineup quiet until the big day.

The Swiss media made its way to Chateau Nyon April 10 to hear that the lineup for July 22-27 includes R.E.M., Manu Chao, Mika, Ben Harper, Massive Attack, Vanessa Paradis, Cali, Justice, Alain Bashung, Etienne Daho, The Hives and Dionysos.

A couple of weeks ago it seemed this year’s acts had also been leaked when a list appeared on the Internet, but it turned out to be wrong.

An unnamed 18-year-old music fan from the Neuchâtel region checked Web sites and artists’ tour schedules to guess the billing, but the festival was quick to put the record straight.

The lineup for this year’s Paleo Nyon (its 33rd installment) is also something of an ad for this year’s European Talent Exchange Programme. Festival booker Sébastien Vuignier picked seven acts from January’s Eurosonic-Noorderslag showcase: Blood Red Shoes, Pete & The Pirates, The Kissaway Trail, I’m From Barcelona, Yelle, The Do and Soko. It also has Belgium’s Goose, which was the most successful act at ETEP 2007.

Another innovation for this year’s festival is the introduction of Le Détour, a new stage dedicated to emerging Swiss talent.