A tornado struck the site of the Rétro C Trop festival, in Tilloloy, late Saturday June 27, a few minutes before the B-52's took the stage. The organizers canceled the last day of this anniversary edition.
The ten years of Rétro C Trop will be remembered, but not for the reasons hoped for. Saturday, June 27, a tornado hit Tilloloy Castle, in the Somme, late in the evening. The festival celebrated its tenth edition there since the day before. The teams therefore evacuated the site. In the process, the organizers canceled the closing day, scheduled for Sunday June 28. “It is with great regret that we were forced to cancel the last day of the 2026 edition of the festival, scheduled for this Sunday, June 28, due to a tornado that occurred late yesterday evening which destroyed all public reception infrastructure”indicates the festival team in a press release.
A tornado stops Rétro C Trop before the B-52's set
Headliners for Saturday evening, the B-52's never took the stage. Their equipment was already there. In a long message published the next day, singer Fred Schneider describes “a total disaster”. It evokes gusts worthy of a hurricane, torrential rain and repeated power outages. In addition, the teams had to take shelter. “Scaffolding even fell off the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, microphone stands, computers, sound equipment. Everything is destroyed »he explains, specifying that no injuries have been reported. As a precaution, the band's tour manager delayed the set by ten minutes. According to the singer, this decision prevented the musicians from finding themselves on stage at the height of the storm.
The Athens group, whose visit to Tilloloy was to close the European tour, also greeted its audience on social networks: “We are sorry to everyone who came to Tilloloy Castle. The storm made it impossible for the concert to continue, and the safety of our fans and everyone in attendance had to come first.”.
Closing day canceled and tickets refunded
Indeed, according to the regional press, rescue teams took care of around 3,000 festival-goers on Saturday evening. The bar and merchandising tents collapsed. The cover of the scene was blown away. Some of the technical equipment also suffered, making the site impassable. Faced with the extent of the damage, it was impossible to maintain Sunday, which was notably due to welcome Joan Jett. “The safety of the public, artists, teams and all stakeholders remains our absolute priority. Given the exceptional weather conditions and their consequences on the site, this decision was the sole responsible one.continues the press release.
Then, the organizers announced the reimbursement of the tickets concerned. This concerns those for Sunday, passes covering the canceled day and Saturday tickets for private late-night spectators. On the other hand, the first two days had taken place “in very good conditions”. Europe, Squeeze and Roland Gift were notably on the bill for this anniversary edition.
The festival promises to return
Despite this sudden halt, the Rétro C Trop team wants to be reassuring and thanks “the public for their understanding, as well as all the artists, volunteers, service providers, partners and teams mobilized throughout this edition”. The Picardy meeting combines rock concerts and vintage atmosphere in the castle park. He assures that he “will return to offer the best possible experience to its festival-goers”. An exceptional date with Lenny Kravitz also remains scheduled on the site on July 5. For their part, the B-52's must return to the stage this summer in the United States. Then, they will resume their Cosmic De-Evolution tour alongside Devo, starting in September.
