Guitares en Ville

Guitares en Ville: Music Leaves the Beffroi to Invade Montrouge

As part of the Paris Guitar Festival — one of Europe's largest gatherings dedicated to the guitar — the Guitares en Ville program pursues an ambitious and generous goal: to put the city to music with guitars. While the Beffroi exhibition brings together luthiers, collectors, and professional guitarists, Guitares en Ville moves out of the halls and into the ordinary living spaces of Montrouge to reach the general public.

Concerts in the City's Living Spaces

Bars, restaurants, retirement homes, community spaces, media libraries: each edition sees about ten locations in the city transformed into small, ephemeral musical stages. The concerts, generally free or donation-based, feature professional and semi-professional musicians from the most diverse genres — French chanson, folk, rock, gypsy jazz, classical music, world music. The atmosphere is resolutely relaxed, conducive to discovery and shared musical pleasure.

During the 2025 edition, artists such as the Jane Porter Trio, Cora Lynn & Victor Pitoiset, and the Daniel John Martin Trio performed in several emblematic venues in Montrouge. Establishments like La Quincaillerie Générale, Restaurant le 42, and the Rubeo Monte bar hosted multiple sets in a single evening, offering Montrouge residents and their Parisian neighbors a true musical itinerary through the city.

An Approach of Inclusion and Proximity

The uniqueness of Guitares en Ville lies in its particular attention to audiences furthest from live music. Concerts are organized in nursing homes and retirement homes, bringing music directly to people with reduced mobility or who are isolated. This cultural mediation approach is at the heart of the philosophy of the association Guitares au Beffroi, which has been organizing the festival since its inception.

The "Osez la guitare" (Dare the guitar) program, complementary to Guitares en Ville, offers introductions and workshops open to beginners, extending the festival's democratic ambition: to make the guitar an instrument accessible to all, regardless of age, practice, or skill level.

A Musical Setting Just a Stone's Throw from Paris

Montrouge, a commune in the inner suburbs of Paris in the Hauts-de-Seine department, offers an ideal setting for this type of local event. Its lively streets, shops, and convivial spaces allow for a natural diffusion of music within the urban fabric. Guitares en Ville thus contributes to strengthening the sense of belonging to a vibrant cultural community, in a city that makes the guitar its musical trademark every March.

A Faithful Rendezvous at the Heart of the Paris Guitar Festival

Since its creation, Guitares en Ville has established itself as one of the highlights of the Paris Guitar Festival, alongside the Salon de la Belle Guitare and the major evening concerts at the Beffroi. Its free nature and local roots make it a unique event in the landscape of Parisian music festivals, remaining accessible even to those who do not wish to purchase a ticket for the exhibition. It is often through Guitares en Ville that new audiences discover the world of lutherie and guitar, and subsequently cross the threshold of the Beffroi.