Grésiblues

Grésiblues: over twenty-five years of blues in the heart of Grésivaudan

Born in 1999 from the passion of a group of friends — Roland, Jean-Luc, Philippe, Sébastien, and others — the association Grésivaudan Blues Festival set out to share the love of blues with as many people as possible. The first concert took place outdoors at the café Les Trois Marches, in Le Touvet, in the Grésivaudan valley, between Grenoble and Chambéry. Since then, the festival has continued to grow, fueled by word-of-mouth and the unwavering commitment of its volunteers.

A traveling and free festival

Grésiblues' originality rests on two founding pillars: the itinerant nature of the concert venues and the holding of music workshops throughout the week. Every evening, the festival sets up in a different town in the valley — Le Touvet, Barraux, Le Cheylas, Bernin, Montbonnot-Saint-Martin, Crolles — along a route of about 30 kilometers. Two free concerts are offered each evening outdoors, with a contingency plan in case of bad weather.

This traveling format allows us to reach audiences in the heart of the villages, far from large venues and conventional festivals. Admission is completely free for all concert evenings, making Grésiblues a deeply popular and accessible event for everyone.

An eclectic and demanding program

While blues remains the festival's DNA, the program embraces a wide spectrum of musical styles: traditional blues, blues-rock, soul, funk, R&B, and sometimes excursions into African blues or rock. Each edition mixes internationally renowned artists with emerging talents from the regional scene, with opening slots often given to promising young musicians.

Over the years, Grésiblues has hosted artists from the United States, Canada, Germany, Cameroon, and of course France, confirming its influence far beyond the borders of Isère.

Music workshops: learning and performing on stage

In parallel with the concerts, the festival organizes a week of intensive music workshops at the Collège La Pierre Aiguille in Le Touvet. Led by professional musicians under the artistic direction of Ian Giddey (Barefoot Iano), these workshops welcome 50 to 70 participants of all levels and ages each year. The instruments offered are guitar, bass, drums, harmonica, and vocals.

The culmination of this week of work is the students' performance on stage before the evening concerts — a unique and often unforgettable experience for amateur musicians who might never have dared to perform in front of an audience.

A festival driven by volunteers

Grésiblues is entirely managed by volunteers, around 70 people who handle organization, logistics, and welcoming the public and artists. Presided over by Brigitte Nakachdjian, the Grésivaudan Blues Festival association has built solid partnerships with the valley's municipalities and local economic players, ensuring the sustainability of this unique event.

In over twenty-five years of existence, the festival has helped change the image of blues in France, attracting an increasingly young and diverse audience, and establishing itself as an unmissable summer event in Isère.