Review: Nuits Sonores 2025

5 Minute Read

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Music

Written by Sarah Jouault

The Lyon festival never fails to impress as it captures the heart of a first time attendee.

6 p.m – a late Saturday afternoon, and the storm is rolling in.

After a scorching week, the sky turns black and thunder is about to rumble over Lyon, echoing the sounds spilling out from an old, abandoned locomotive factory. There’s definitely electricity in the air tonight.

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, the 22nd edition of Nuits Sonores is in full swing in Lyon, offering an immersive musical experience to festival-goers. The Grandes Locos (a former train maintenance center) host the day’s events with an eclectic lineup spread across four stages: Nef, Outdoor, Soundsystem, and Garage.

The venue itself is well worth the visit : a spectacular architectural setting with majestic glass roofs, ancient vaulted ceilings, and an industrial atmosphere reimagined for each event. There’s no sense of confinement here — you can wander freely from stage to stage, move from indoors to outdoors, and lose yourself in the rich history of the site.

As someone newly arrived in Lyon, missing out on this iconic local event felt unthinkable. It clearly holds a special place in the hearts of the Lyonnais. Even during the day, walking through the subway corridors, I amused myself by guessing which of the green-haired people or fishnet T-shirt wearers would become my dancefloor companions that night. It felt as though the whole city was filled with party-goers, thirsty for a good time, ready to stomp their feet all night long. But the reality turned out to be something else entirely.

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If there’s one thing I truly realised upon arriving at Nuits Sonores, it’s that techno has no single style. One unique feature I’d never seen at any other festival is just how intergenerational and inclusive it is. The place felt really safe for a woman alone and I think it’s important to mention this, as it’s not always the case at festivals. People of all ages, all styles, simply there to let loose and enjoy having such incredible artists right at their doorstep.

And speaking of artists, there was no shortage of them. It was almost impossible to know where to go in this giant hive of activity. With no particular destination in mind, I let myself be guided by the music, drifting through a range of genres: from Nubiyan Twist blending jazz, soul, and electronic, to Mochakk, the Brazilian prodigy fusing funk, disco, and rock, to Machine Girl, a wildly intense punk duo.

But after all this wandering, I ended up getting completely drawn in by one artist in the grand Nef hall—and I never left: Anetha and her new show EXHIBIT, an audiovisual journey exploring the boundaries of techno. An hour and a half of pure bliss—one of the best sets of her career, according to the artist herself. And to end on a high note, how could I not mention the Detroit legend Kevin Saunderson ? Simply mythical.

That’s where the night ends for me, my ears buzzing with joy.

Nuits Sonores, I’ll be back.