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Press Release of March 23, 2021
Dear friends of La Roche Bluegrass Festival
In the current context of the Coronavirus in Europe and French government guidelines, many festivals are cancelling their 2021 events while those that plan to go ahead accept that nothing will be as normal. The La Roche Bluegrass Festival Organising Committee met recently and decided to do everything possible to put on a series of Bluegrass concerts during the scheduled weekend of the festival from July 30 to August 1. With a seated, socially distanced audience this will not be the festival that we have all come to know and love. However, we are determined to celebrate Bluegrass music and to give some of our artists a chance to perform in front of a live audience, and we will do our best to put on an event that captures the spirit of La Roche Bluegrass Festival while ensuring the safety of our artists, volunteers and visitors. We are therefore considering a schedule of 10 - 15 bands on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and will work accordingly to put in place an organisation that will cater for the approved number of spectators (unknown today), while complying with all protocols and safety measures. Much still depends on how the battle between the vaccines and the variants swings over the coming weeks and if restrictions are relaxed or reinforced, so nothing is certain although we expect to have some form of reservation system. We will keep you informed as we make progress. We wish you all health, harmony and happiness and hope to see as many of you as possible in La Roche-sur-Foron at the end of July. |
La Roche Bluegrass Show EP. 4Episode 4 of La Roche Bluegrass Show is now line on your YouTube channel.
This is a special edition dedicated to Corona Jams, where 18 of the best European pickers from 8 countries come together to pick 4 tunes remotely, thanks to the technology of confinement. |
La Roche Bluegrass Show |
la roche Bluegrass youtube channel |
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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!
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virtual 2020
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 filmOur friend Fred Glas, banjo player from Lyon, made us 2 promotional films, released in March 2020. See our YouTube Channel for more
remember the good timesCheck out our gallery of past years with videos, reports and photos. And remember, the good times will come again.
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new TOWN HALL STAGEA 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
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 |
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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.
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