The Cahors Blues Festival was created by Gérard Tertre, Member of the Hot Club de France, a pioneering Association in the introduction of Jazz in France and Europe. Based in Cahors, it was in this beautiful touristic town in the South-West of France where he produced in 1982, with his wife Anne, the first official Edition of the Festival, with the help of a few friends including Jean Marie Monestier founder from the famous Jazz record label “Black and Blue”. Faced with their success, they decided to continue the adventure and gave to the festival the legendary Black Head Logo by local graphic designer Bernard Chiappini.
From 2002, affected by illness, Gerard took a step back and he was replaced succeed for short periods by Bernard Viguier, Bernard Guyot, Bernard Volant and Jean Pierre Lemozit. This last one called Robert Mauriès in 2006. He immediately joined the Festival as a volunteer, and in 2012 he was elected President, after the sudden death of Jean-Pierre Lemozit.
Robert, passionate about Blues for what it has represented and still now represents, with the Festival helps to keep the Blues and its development, mainly for the public. Cahors Blues Festival takes place every year during 4-5 days mid-July, with a program mainly dedicated to the Blues, putting in each edition line up well-known artists together with new great talents. It adds new discoveries and shows that obviously, young artists give the best, like their elders.
The numerous audience who comes to this kind of Festival discover real surprises every year. The Festival is also very attentive to the quality of the sound, lights and video, supported by an experienced team among the best in France. Every year the Festival also includes different actions for French blues musicians, creating the “Mississippi Blues Trail Challenge” many years ago, which takes place the first day of the Festival on the “Johnny Winter” stage free of charge for the audience. In addition, the first evening of the Festival, concerts are organized in the bars and restaurants (around 12) with jams with artists who will play in the main stage.
The atmosphere looks like Memphis Tennessee!! The Festival has hosted for several years the “Toulouse Blues Society” offering them a dedicated half-day stage that becomes a national and international promotion of local and regional Blues groups. And, for the first time, Cahors Blues Festival welcomes in 2024 “France Blues” National Organization representative of Blues in France known to help the Blues Festivals, Musicians, Young Musicians and Agents…
All that is possible thanks to the help and work of a team of around a hundred loyal volunteers, very motivated and attached to Cahors Blues Festival, some of them coming for forty years, and also thanks to the financial support of dozens of private people and institutional Partners or private Companies. 2024 is already an amazing Year for Cahors Blues Festival with the tribute paid by the European Blues Union and its Administrators.
It is a great honor for Cahors Blues Festival, such as magnificent recognition. We thank them very much!
Before 2024 Cahors blues festival received 4 recognitions:
1 “Mississippi Blues trail Marker” in 2014 from the Tourism Government of the Mississippi which recognized the Cahors Blues Festival as a part of Blues music
history for all the work done to the Blues with several hundred of American Blues Artists performing at Cahors Blues Festival
2 “Blues Behind the Scene” Award in 2015 in Brussels to Robert Mauriès by the European Blues Union as Promoter of Cahors Blues Festival
3 “Keeping the Blues Alive in 2016” Award in Memphis from Memphis Blues Foundation
4 Inducted to French Blues Hall Of Fame in 2022 by France Blues
5 Inducted to the European Blues Hall of Fame in 2024 Braga by the European Blues Union.
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