bluegrass in la roche
july 30 - august 1, 2021
Press Release of June 1, 2021
MAIN POINTS
  • The festival will go ahead as planned from Friday July 30 to Sunday August 1 with a name change for  2021 : Bluegrass In La Roche - There will be Bluegrass and it will be in La Roche.
  • 12 bands from France and neighbouring Switzerland and Italy will perform.
  • Capacity will be set at 990 people (including volunteers and artists)
  • The site will be organised to be Covid compliant and all protocols in force at the time of the event will be respected.
  • We hope to have a food and beverage operation on site.
  • Entrance will be ticketed to help cover festival costs with an online reservation system coming soon.
  • Steet Festival is cancelled and jamming may be possible in town.
  • There will no festival market, instrument check, luthiers hall, workshop, campsite or shuttle services.​
Download the full Press Release with detailed explanations about organisation, ticketing and pricing.

La Roche Bluegrass Show EP. 6

Episode 6 of La Roche Bluegrass Show is now on line on our YouTube channel.
This is a special edition from the Iberian Peninsular with one song from Portugal and 2 from Barcelona in Spain, and featuring interesting fusions of local musical influences within the Bluegrass structure.

new from La Roche Bluegrass Festival 

​La Roche Bluegrass Show

la roche Bluegrass youtube channel
A new project from La Roche Bluegrass Festival to promote the Best of Bluegrass in Europe.
A monthly show hosted by Christopher Howard-Williams showcasing 3 different acts from all around Europe.
To find out more about the show, about the artists featured and about being a guest on the show see our La Roche Bluegrass Show page on this site.
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.
To help us get traction please subscribe to the channel and like the films. With 100 subscribers we can have our own YouTube channel address. Thank you!

other news from the festival

virtual 2020

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Our virtual festival featutred 17 shows filmed during previous festivals with 7 bands from Europe (6 countries) and 10 bands from the USA.
And, 17 interviews with the artists by festival president Christopher Howard-Williams  recorded in July 2020, in English with direct translation into French. They give fascinating insights into the artists' life in lockdown, their prospects for the near future and their stories from La Roche Bluegrass Festival.
Thanks to you, we raised nearly €6,000 which were distributed to the artists.
The shows and the interviews can still be viewed on our YouTube channel

new festival film

Our friend Fred Glas, banjo player from Lyon, made us 2 promotional films, released in March 2020. See our YouTube Channel for more
See the full 9-minute version
Or just watch the 1-minute teaser!

remember the good times

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

new TOWN HALL STAGE

A growing number of duos and trios apply to play the festival. 
With the current configuration it is difficult to schedule more than one or two each year, even though many of them are talented and play music close to the Bluegrass traditions. 
For this reason, we would like to test a 3rd stage exclusively for duos and trios. The stage will be on the main square in front of the Town Hall and will operate from 4 pm to 8 pm on Friday and Saturday. Bands will play 45-minute sets and play under the same conditions as other bands.
IBMA DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMMENT AWARD FOR CHRISTOPHER HOWARD-WILLIAMS
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Christopher with Alison Brown
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 

festival security
 In line with measures taken throughout Europe on safety in public places, all people a onto the site will be submitted to a search of their belongings by our security staff. We thank you for your cooperation and your understanding.