Festival Jacques Brel

The Festival Jacques Brel: twenty-five years serving French-language song

Created in 2000 by the Théâtre Edwige Feuillère, a conventioned stage in Vesoul, the Festival Jacques Brel has become a must-attend event for French song. Every year in October, it opens the theater's cultural season by highlighting French-language musical creation, from established artists to emerging talents.

The Springboard: a talent revealer

The centerpiece of the festival, the Festival Jacques Brel Springboard is a national competition that offers a real launchpad for young singer-songwriters. After a call for applications open from February to March, five finalists are selected to perform on the stage of the Théâtre Edwige Feuillère. Each artist has thirty minutes to convince a jury composed of ten professionals — authors, composers, programmers, journalists — as well as a youth jury and the public.

The winner of the 1st Prize Ville de Vesoul receives a grant of 3,000 euros and becomes an associate artist with the theater for two years, benefiting from creation residencies, professional advice, and programming in the following festival. The 2nd Prize Fondation La Poste is endowed with 1,500 euros. A Public Prize completes the awards.

Artists in the City

A highlight of the festival, "Artists in the City" transforms Vesoul into an open-air stage for a day. The winners of previous editions take over unusual venues — cafes, music schools, post offices, shops — for free, intimate concerts that make the Haute-Saône city vibrate to the rhythm of French song.

A supported and recognized festival

Supported by the Fondation La Poste, the City of Vesoul, and the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region, the Festival Jacques Brel has gained national recognition. It perpetuates the spirit of Jacques Brel — artistic excellence, generosity, and love of words — while concretely supporting the new generation of French-language song. Each edition is sponsored by a renowned artist: in 2026, singer Coline Rio will hold this role.