Bluegrass in La Roche
​august 3 - 7, 2022

Every year the first weekend in August in the French Alps, close to Geneva, Chamonix and Annecy

Missy raines, IBMA Bass Player of the year and Grammy nominated for her last album, to headline

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We are delighted to present the full line up of the 2022 Bluegrass in La Roche festival with 30 bands from 15 different countries.
Find out all about the bands on our Music at the Festival pages.
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the festival in sight & sound

festival film

Our friend Fred Glas, banjo player from Lyon, made us 2 promotional films, released in March 2020.
​They are available below and on our YouTube channel.
See the full 9-minute version
Or just the 1-minute teaser!

la roche bluegrass youtube channel

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We have curated all our videos of La Roche Bluegrass Festival into a new YouTube Channel.
You can see videos of past shows, promotional clips and all La Roche Bluegrass Shows will be curated there from now on.
Please  support the festival by subscribing to the channel and liking films

picture & film memories from past festivals

Check out our gallery of past years with videos, reports and photos. And remember, the good times will come again.

latest news

Scroll down to read about our 2022 partners, a travel mandolin up for auction, our new stage with the Fondation d'Entreprise AG2R La Mondiale for Vitality and the Arts, our new logo. 

summer discounts on local rail fares to la roche

A huge thank  you to our partners who have chosen to support us in 2022 after two years away

Visit this page to read more and to become a partner of the festival
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​Our  new Town Hall Stage for duets and trios in partnership with

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We are delighted to welcome the  AG2R La Mondiale Foundation for Artistic Vitality, as 2022 sponsor of the new Town Hall stage that will be dedicated to performing duets and trios. The Foundation is a strong supporter of local projects that preserve and promote France's regional artistic and cultural heritage. Without their support we would not be in a position to launch this new stage after the two difficult years of the pandemic.
We would particularly like to thank them for renewing their support in 2022 after it was first granted in 2020, and then again in 2021.
Please read about the great work this foundation does to support artists and the arts.

travel mandolin up for auction

French Luthier Jean Lacote has generously given us a new travel mandolin, specially made by him for the festival with "La Roche" engraved on the body.
It can be plugged into a sound board, an amp or a pedal board for live performing, or you can plug your heaphones directly into the output to play on trains, in airports or in hotels without disturbing your neighbours.
It can be dismounted for easy carrying when travelling, and can be assembled for right or left handed players.
It will be displayed at the festival with the possibility to try it out.
​It wll be sold through a silent auction with a reserve price set at €350.

Bluegrass in La Roche
​new name, new logo for the festival

After 15 years, La Roche Bluegrass Festival becomes Bluegrass in La Roche 
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As for many events around the globe, 2022 marks a return for our festival in La Roche-sur-Foron, and after two years away we decided to make some changes.
Some are already apparent in the line up, with no contest for the first time since 2006.
We also decided to make two major changes to the visual identity of the festival.
  1. Many people liked the “temporary” name we gave the reduced festival in 2021, and so did we. So we have made the big move to change the name of the festival, which will now be called “Bluegrass in La Roche”.
  2. The change of name meant a change of logo. Our old logo has served us well for 15 years and it was time to modernise it along with our new name. 
The new logo keeps the banjo-mandolin symbols and adds a skyline profile of the town’s three main architectural features: the chateau, the church and the rock that gave the town its name.
We would like to thank graphic designer Philippe Boutet, a festival regular, for his creativity and his patience throughout the process and we are sure you will agree that he has done an excellent job in giving the festival a sleeker, more modern logo to take us into the future.

new directions for ​La Roche Bluegrass Festival 

After two years of Covid restrictions the festival organising committee met in early October 2021 to review the festival organisation and consider changes to keep the festival a major event on the Bluegrass calendar.

IBMA DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMMENT AWARD FOR CHRISTOPHER HOWARD-WILLIAMS

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La Roche Bluegrass Festival is proud that Nashville Based IBMA gave its second highest award (after Hall of Fame) to La Roche Bluegrass Festival founder and chairman Christopher Howard-Williams at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards Ceremony in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 27, 2018.
The award was presented by Compass Records founder and CEO Alison Brown, herself an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award recipient, IBMA Banjo Player of the year and 2-time Grammy winner.
See article in Bluegrass Unlimited on Christopher Howard-Williams 
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Christopher with Alison Brown
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2020 pandemic virtual festival

Our virtual festival featutred 17 shows with bands from Europe the USA.
And, 17 interviews with the artists giving fascinating insights into their lives during lockdown.
The shows and the interviews can still be viewed on our YouTube channel