Gregory Porter, Melody Gardot, Dhafer Youssef and Marcus Miller are a few of the names set to perform at this year’s Jazz a Vienne festival in central France.
The festival started in 1981, and has grown significantly. Artistic director Benjamin Tanguy says he wants to bring in new audiences.
“When the festival was created it was just one night, now it’s 15 days,” Tanguy said. “We are an international jazz festival, but the audience comes from the region. We would like to bring people from other regions and an international audience.”
The festival’s mainstage is a Roman theater that can hold 7,500 people. It faces west, which offers a spectacular sunset backdrop to the stage. And it’s emblematic of the history you’ll find in the region.
“We have a lot of monuments in Vienne,” Tanguy said. “It’s like a little Pompeii. It’s a beautiful town, and a good town for tourism.”
The festival runs from June 28 to July 13.
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