La Bouchure Festival

Four evenings, four communes, one spirit of sharing

The La Bouchure Festival was born in 2001 from the desire of a group of music enthusiasts to bring the Commentry canton to life through culture. Since its creation, the principle has remained the same: to offer four evenings of free open-air concerts, one in each of the four communes of the canton — Colombier, Hyds, Malicorne, and Commentry. Each evening, a different location hosts the spectators: the parking lot of the Salle des Fêtes in Colombier, the Place de la Mairie in Hyds, the municipal stadium in Malicorne, and the Agora parking lot in Commentry.

An eclectic and generous program

The festival has always championed an eclectic program, open to all genres. Over the years, the La Bouchure stage has hosted renowned artists: Sinsemilia, HK & Les Saltimbanks, Tri Yann, François Hadji-Lazaro, K2R Riddim, Kaolin, Ceux qui marchent debout, and Iphaze. Rock, French chanson, reggae, funk, electro, traditional music, and world music follow one another from one evening to the next, offering the public a renewed musical discovery each year.

A 100% volunteer festival

The association Les Bouchures, founded in 2003 to structure the festival's organization, relies entirely on volunteers. Each year, over 70 volunteers — "locals, raised in the open air, at festivals" as they like to define themselves — ensure logistics, audience reception, technical support, and catering. This collective commitment makes La Bouchure an event deeply rooted in the local life of the Commentry basin.

Beyond the festival: an active cultural association

The Les Bouchures association continues its cultural activities throughout the year through concerts, contemporary art exhibitions, film screenings, and creative workshops. Based at Place du 14 Juillet in Commentry, it contributes to the local, cultural, and festive development of the canton, in a rural area that relies on culture as a lever for social connection.