This summer Europe has been enduring unprecedented heatwaves. Last week, temperatures in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of France hit record highs. In France alone, the death toll from the heat, between last Wednesday and this weekend, is over a thousand. Many events were canceled last minute due to the fatal weather, including Paris' Solidays Festival that Zara Larsson and JADE were scheduled to play. However, not every organizer handled these difficult circumstances responsibly.
This past weekend was Retro C Trop festival returned for it's tenth year. The lineup featured iconic acts like Squeeze, Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, EXTC, and the B-52s. The latter were scheduled to play a late-night set Saturday. That didn't happen. According to a new account from the B-52s' tour manager Alice Martin, the French festival didn't take into the wellbeing of the fans or the bands when a summer storm was approaching Tilloloy, France.
In a detailed Facebook post, Martin recounted how their team was aware of the storm at 4 p.m. The band was slated to take the stage at 11 p.m. The promoter insisted they wait out the storm, but at 10 p.m. the lightning and winds were already fierce. The concert was cancelled 10 minutes before the band was set to perform. At the last minute, they were ushered into a nearby church, without phone service, for their safety.
"Absolutely disgraceful from the organisers," she wrote." Not only is our gear ruined, I’m very suprised nobody is dead. Chunks of metal were falling from the stage roof and some of our instruments were in the audience!!!!" She continued:
This festival do not give a damn about you. All they want is for the show to go on and accept a watered down rider. To stuff you in rooms at 35 degree heat with no air conditioning and then leave you with no assistance or check in on us after the storm. Most, not all, of the staff absolutely USELESS like they’ve never seen an event in their lives. The audacity, AUDACITY for a member of their team to come into the band afterwards and start asking for posters to be signed on a show they never even got to play. Tasteless, clueless.
Fred Schneider also posted on his account about the incident.
This is not my usual content. This is very serious. Last night was a total disaster. The promoter knew the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France.
First, there was lightning, but the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform. Luckily, Our tour manager, said to hold back 10 minutes because it’s not safe and we have to see what is going on with the storm. Then it was like a world wind hurricane force and heavy rain.
Most of our crew was caught and had to duck under where they could for shelter. The festival was evacuated. We could not even leave because it was too dangerous to drive. The power went out several times backstage.
We felt terrible for the fans that have waited in the heat all day for us to perform. And then get very little warning to no warning from the promoter that it wasn’t safe to stay out and make our way to the stage, there was lightning striking the band before our set.
Scaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed.
"We are so sorry to everyone who came out to Château de Tilloloy yesterday," the band wrote on their Instagram. "The storm made it impossible to continue, and the safety of our fans and everyone on site had to come first. A huge thank you to our touring crew for their work and care in keeping everyone as safe as possible throughout an incredibly dangerous situation. We hope everyone got home safely."
The following day, Retro C Trop announced that the third and final day of the festival was also cancelled do to a tornado conflicting damage to the site. The Fest's post, translated in English, reads:
Cancellation of the final day of the Rétro C Trop festival It is with deep regret that we have been forced to cancel the final day of the 2026 festival—scheduled for this Sunday, June 28—following a tornado late last night that destroyed all the infrastructure for hosting the public.
The safety of the audience, artists, staff, and all those involved remains our absolute priority. Given the extreme weather conditions and their impact on the site, this was the only responsible decision to make.
The first two days of the festival, Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27, took place under excellent conditions, allowing the audience to share wonderful moments of music and conviviality. We will provide further updates as soon as new information is confirmed.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the audience for their understanding, as well as to all the artists, volunteers, service providers, partners, and staff who worked so hard throughout this edition. The Rétro C Trop festival will return to offer the best possible experience to its festival-goers.
The Rétro C Trop festival team
I'm not a meteorologist, but it really seems like they should have canceled the event hours before they did...maybe even when they noticed there was lightning. Just a thought!
You can see footage of the weather and read Martin's full account below:
Retro C Trop, Tilloloy France. Had a hellish time when I was here a few years back but this year just tops it. Your team are not fit to be running events. There have been extreme heat warnings ALL DAY which were repeatedly ignored despite our queries. All the audience sitting under trees trying to get some shade meanwhile an hour away in Paris all outdoors events cancelled. To make matters worse the storm warnings started coming in. Around 4pm today I knew the storm was hitting the area of Tilloloy right when we were due onstage 11pm. Once onsite at 10pm the lightening was already fierce and the thunder getting closer and closer but STILL the promoter wanted us to go on. I was checking weather radar and knew it wasn’t looking good. 15 mins before we were due to leave for stage I went to their office (no communication from them or care towards our concerns by the way, just in their office hoping no one would notice and just carry on) I went in and told them it was unsafe and that I am not putting the B52s onstage until we see an improvement in the weather. I said I will hold for 10 mins and then we will assess again. They told me ‘no it’s worse to hold. Go on now and hopefully by the time you’re almost finished the storm will hit’ so I asked what the protocol is if it hits whilst everyone’s onstage and what about our gear and our crew!! He said eveyone would go from the stage to the cars and wait for the storm to pass and then would they consider going back onstage after’
what???? I said absolutely not. I then turns to the police and said ‘do you think it’s safe for not only our band and crew but the audience to be out in this?’ The policeman muttered something in French and the promoter rushed out the room in a huff. Next this I know he’s run to the stage not even communicating with me what he was doing and announced he was sorry but they have to cancel please evacuate.’ He was in no rush by all accounts from our crew, sort of saunters onstage looking sad and disappointed’ no sooner had he finished the announcement the storm let rip! And he of course RAN offstage leaving all our crew with no choice but to follow.
Meanwhile I tell the band to stay inside and Kerry and I just naturally ran toward the stage to make sure all our crew knew to come inside. Absolutely soaked through and nearly knocked out by tarpaulins and twigs we were manhandled into
A nearby church where we had no phone service and wasn’t allows to leave. The power went out and then a bunch of young kids started group singing which made me and Kerry wish we had been sucked up by a twister instead of being saved.
Absolutely disgraceful from the organisers.
Not only is our gear ruined, I’m very suprised nobody is dead. Chunks of metal were falling from the stage roof and some of our instruments were in the audience!!!! Claudia the lobster somehow managed to survive but parts of her were spewed all over the stage and she’s gonna need a bit of TLC to get back on her feet again.
The festival should have been pulled the second they knew a storm was coming.
I am absolutely appalled. Had we of not delayed we would have all been caught up on stage in a complete and utter disaster. Should have been cancelled hours ago!!!
Not to mention - no care and attention to any of us. Site woman comes to try tell us the crew van can’t stay onsite for too long and then there was no buggy drivers and one buggy with a missing key. So everyone has to drag their cases across the the carpark through water logged grass to get offsite. Not one welfare check and not one person offering assistance to get offsite. They just kept saying you can’t leave. So we walked to the cars and got offsite ourselves.
I hope Retro C Trop never sees the light of day again I have never known anything like it. Incompetent!!!
This festival do not give a damn about you. All they want is for the show to go on and accept a watered down rider. To stuff you in rooms at 35 degree heat with no air conditioning and then leave you with no assistance or check in on us after the storm. Most, not all, of the staff absolutely USELESS like they’ve never seen an event in their lives. The audacity, AUDACITY for a member of their team to come into the band afterwards and start asking for posters to be signed on a show they never even got to play. Tasteless, clueless.
Respect to the crew for documenting the damage and salvaging as much of the gear as possible amongst the smell of electrical fire!
