Jazz in Vienne

While we walk back down to the town’s center along the “Chemin des Amoureux”, literally “Lover’s Path”, let’s talk about the yearly event that brightens up Vienne for 2 weeks : Jazz in Vienne. This festival, held in the impressive antique theater, attracts thousands of people who come to enjoy this idyllic setting and see their favorite artists perform. Many stages are set up, providing free concerts to passersby.  Let’s take a moment to retrace the history of this event, which has become one of the city’s symbols. Launched in 1981 by Jean-Paul Boutellier, the biggest names of Jazz have performed here, making “Jazz in Vienne” France’s 6th most frequented festival. For the record, the founder initially asked the city of Lyon to host his first ‘Nuit du Blues’ event, but when his request was denied, he turned to the ancient theater of Vienne, a city that accepted the project. The rest is history, as a year later, the festival was born and quickly became renowned worldwide. This event features many international performers, but also emerging artists, and those in a wide variety of style, ranging from traditional jazz to comtemporary jazz, funk or blues. Through this event, the city has helped to promote this style of music with its rich history throughout Europe, and plays an important role in preserving it. Today, on top of the concerts performed in the antique theater, there are stages all throughout town, namely in the “Jardin de Cybèle”, near the temple, or at the François Ponsard theater. A unique event in France, that you should not miss if you enjoy jazz, or even just to dance in lively streets, lit up by open stage concerts!