Nick Cave Honored With Prestigious French Awards

Australian music veteran Nick Cave has been recognized by the French city of Arles, with two prestigious honors bestowed upon him over the weekend.

Cave, who is currently performing a solo tour of Europe, visited Arles on Saturday (July 26) for a headline performance in the city. However, the 67-year-old musician appeared at Arles’ Hôtel de Ville on the morning of the show to receive two awards while in town.

At the ceremony, Cave was also awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by Bertrand Burgalat, the president of the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing.

A prestigious honor, the Order of Arts and Letters is a special award given to those who have been deemed to have “significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance.”

Additionally, the city’s Mayor, Patrick de Carolis, was also on hand to present Cave with the City of Arles Medal in recognition of his decades of artistic contributions and his reported “special ties” to the city. 

“You are a citizen of the world and a citizen of Arles,” de Carolis was reported as saying to Cave in his speech.

While Cave countered the gravitas of the moment with humor by noting he didn’t understand a word of de Carolis’ speech given its delivery in French, his own speech included recognition of poets such as Rimbaud and Baudelaire, and the role of French culture within his creative journey.

Alongside Cave’s own honor, Kenny Gates, the co-founder of [PIAS] – which also serves as Cave’s label home – was awarded the City of Arles Medal of Honour. [PIAS] is also a long-time partner of Harmonia Mundi, a globally-recognized classical label located in Arles.

Cave isn’t the first Australian musician to have received a French honor of this level. In 2009, Tina Arena became the first Australian citizen to receive the Ordre national du Mérite (French Order of Merit), with then-President Nicolas Sarkozy recognizing her contributions to French culture.