Sting, The Cure, Manu Chao, Lenny Kravitz, David Guetta, Justice, Garbage, Franz Ferdinand, Stephan Eicher, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Roger Hodgson, Bénabar, Bloc Party, Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine, Groundation, Thomas Dutronc, Natacha Atlas, The Kooks, Maxim Vengerov & Camerata Menuhin, today Paléo unveils the multicoloured line-up for a very eclectic 37th edition, with its palette of rock, electro, French chanson and world music. The Village du Monde will be dropping anchor in the Middle East and highlighting the region’s immense cultural riches. Tickets and festival passes will go on sale at midday on Wednesday 25 April on www.paleo.ch and at usual sales outlets.

Behind the monumental oaks that are Sting, The Cure, Manu Chao, Lenny Kravitz and Garbage, is hidden a forest of exciting artists. The first part of this musical forest is English! The abundant energy of Bloc Party, the vigorous pop rock of the Kooks, the sexy sap of the Kills and the sixties elegance of Miles Kane, whose abundant foliage will provide a canopy for the fast-growing shrubs and young shoots fighting for a place in the Festival sunshine: from Bon Iver and his sylvan pop, to Hanni El Khatib and his back to the sources blues rock, not forgetting Warpaint, with their roots firmly grounded in the fertile earth of folk psyche, and the folk music of Other Lives, sometimes intimate, sometimes orchestral, Kurt Vile & The Violators, with their amazing song writing style in the tradition of Dylan, Springsteen and Young, or the math rock infused with the Beach Boys of the astonishing Swiss band Honey For Petzi. There are multitudes of different species inviting us to explore these rich woodlands. Francophone music is represented this year in a vast array of rock knowhow, headed by Dionysos and their opera rock, the outer space electro rock of M83 and the Gypsy swing of Caravan Palace. Also in full bud are the playful lo-fi sounds of GaBLé, the festive pop rock of Skip The Use and the power of Rover. On the strength of their remarkable success at home and abroad, Swiss bands seem to be in full bloom: 77 Bombay Street, that production line of pop folk hits, Boy, a brilliant folk duo and Anna Aaron and her haunting song writing rock – these are but a few examples of the nursery of talent that stretches over the horizon: Peter Kernel, Monoski, Widdershins, The Deadline Experience and mmmh! are all waiting to be discovered.

The temperature will be rising as night falls, with electronic powerhouses such as David Guetta and Justice. The boards will be trembling under the onslaught of Chinese Man, powerful beat makers from Marseilles, and the techno house of Agoria and the turntable wizards of C2C and their mix of hip hop and electro. Not forgetting the inventive Swiss outfit Buvette with their electro beach pop, Xewin and their electro dance-floor, the electro trash of The Phat Crew and the dub step techno of Shake it Maschine.

Bénabar is one of those artists who have grown with the Festival, appearing on a bigger stage each time he comes. Today he has secured his reputation as one of the greats of French chanson, and will be headlining with the illustrious French singer Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine, who has never been in finer form, Thomas Dutronc and his finely written gypsy songs, the elegant Camille, the classy Dominique A, with his blend of rock and lyrical songs and Brigitte, a zany new-wave duo.

Reggae will be proudly represented this year with the Californian roots band Groundation, the prodigious Hollie Cook, and her dub declensions and the return of Raggasonic, in the purest of Raggamuffin styles. For their part, Irma and Imany will be building finely crafted bridges between swaying rhythms and song-writing folk. The rapper OrelSan and his punchy hits will ensure that hip-hop plays its part in developing the groove dimension of this year’s line-up, together with 1995, and their old-school French rap, Theophilus London and his New York rap with tones of the Smiths and Kraftwerk, A State of Mind and their brassy seventies funk-infused rap, the Afro rap of Blitz The Ambassador and the Lebanese-Swiss rapper La Gale, with her electro-vintage style.

The Middle East, 10th Village du Monde

For its 10th edition, after years of scouring the planet in search of its immense cultural treasures, the Village du Monde will be setting its sights in 2012 on the Middle East, from Iran to Iraq, from Palestine to Lebanon, from Turkey to Egypt, not forgetting Israel and Syria. On the musical menu of this festival within the Festival: tradition, electro, jazz, rap and rock. Natacha Atlas revisits traditional music and brings West and East closer together, while the Trio Joubran, virtuosi and makers of ouds, perpetuate the traditions of Arabic music. The Village du Monde will also be echoing to more contemporary sounds, with the likes of Balkan Beat Box and their high-energy electronic music and the whimsical Syrian, Omar Souleyman. Two illustrious jazzmen will be honouring us with their presence: Ibrahim Maalouf and Avishai Cohen. The pop rock of Mashrou’ Leila and the special project developed by Jack Is Dead & son Orchestre Iranien, a mix of bluesy rock infused with traditional Iranian sounds, will also be present on the Asse site and providing an electric dimension to the Village sound. Those champions of peace among peoples, the Palestinian rappers DAM will be delivering their punch lines in an orientalised style of hip-hop.

Maxim Vengerov, the man with the Stradivarius

His presence is an event for the Festival. On Sunday, Maxim Vengerov, recently appointed advisor to the International Menuhin Music Academy in Coppet (Switzerland), will be presenting three works for string ensemble by Tchaikovsky, Massenet and Ravel, playing his legendary violin and conduction the Camerata Menuhin.

This rapid review of the Festival line-up ends with a smile… and three reasons to be cheerful! French comedian Kev Adams will be providing plenty of laughs, as will the totally zany air musicals performed by Airnadette and "Les Franglaises", literal and quite hilarious French translations of English language standards by Les Tistics.

Tickets and Festival passes are on sale from midday on Wednesday 25 April (reduced tariffs available until 30.04) on www.paleo.ch as well as from usual sales outlets.