Riverrun Festival
Creative music and sound experimentation in Albi
2026
About Riverrun
Riverrun — edition 2026
riverrun returns for its 10th edition from October 5th to 11th, 2026, between Albi and Toulouse. The program curated by the GMEA — National Center for Musical Creation of Albi-Tarn features 17 events: concerts, performances, installations, and an exhibition, exploring the theme of the new and the old. The La Nòvia collective anchors the Albi weekend, the Dedalus ensemble premieres three new works, Kara-Lis Coverdale performs at the Église du Gesù in Toulouse, and L'Athanor celebrates the Morton Feldman centenary. Most events are free; three concerts are ticketed, ranging from €8 to €18.
10th edition — October 5th to 11th, 2026
"The program for this 10th edition brings together the new and the old," announces the GMEA. The La Nòvia collective, which has spent over twenty years exploring the boundaries between traditional repertoires and experimental music, serves as the common thread for the Albi weekend. The Dedalus ensemble, in association with the GMEA, performs three commissioned works by Clara de Asís, Anthony Pateras, and Karl Naegelen. The festival celebrates the Morton Feldman centenary, dedicates a morning to Moondog, and presents the world premiere of a solo piano piece by Anthony Pateras. For this anniversary edition, the GMEA also honors the work of artist Vincent Menu, who has designed the festival's visual identity for the past decade.
Sound installations from the European tekhnē project — Cécile Babiole, Yann Leguay, Sébastien Roux — will be presented before and during the festival.
Venues
- Albi: GMEA, 4 rue Sainte-Claire; Le Frigo, 9 rue Bonne Cambe; La Cheminée, 5 rue Sainte-Marie; L'Athanor and the Grand Théâtre de la Scène Nationale, place de l'Amitié entre les Peuples; Protestant Temple, 20 rue Fonvieille; Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Palais de la Berbie, place Sainte-Cécile.
- Toulouse: Lieu NEUFNEUF, 151 route de Blagnac; Église du Gesù, 22 bis rue des Fleurs; Centre culturel Bellegarde, 17 rue Bellegarde.
Bookings
Events with limited capacity — the performance at the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, the Moondog concert-talk, and the Anthony Pateras solo — require booking via the GMEA at [email protected] or +33 (0)5 63 54 51 75. Tickets for the three paid concerts must be purchased through the partner venues' box offices: the Scène Nationale d'Albi-Tarn for La Nòvia, Lieu NEUFNEUF for The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, and Toulouse les Orgues for Kara-Lis Coverdale.
Highlights Riverrun 2026
- La Nòvia performs Conlon Nancarrow and a new work by Jessica Ekomane — Friday, October 9th at 8:30 PM, Grand Théâtre de la Scène Nationale, Albi
- Kara-Lis Coverdale on the organ at Église du Gesù — Thursday, October 8th at 10:30 PM, Toulouse, in collaboration with the Toulouse les Orgues festival
- Three new commissions for the Dedalus ensemble by Clara de Asís, Anthony Pateras, and Karl Naegelen — Saturday, October 10th at 6:00 PM, L'Athanor, Albi
- "For John Cage" by Morton Feldman, for the composer's centenary — Saturday, October 10th at 6:00 PM, L'Athanor, Albi
- Moondog performed by Lou Renaud-Bailly and François Mardirossian, with a talk by Amaury Cornut — Saturday, October 10th at 11:00 AM, GMEA Auditorium
- "A lexicon for solo piano improvisation" by Anthony Pateras, world premiere — Saturday, October 10th at 2:30 PM, GMEA, Albi
Programme Riverrun 2026
Before the festival
- September 17th to October 28th — "Ritournelles" exhibition by Cécile Babiole (installation, sculpture, sound, video, performance, publishing) · Centre culturel Bellegarde, Toulouse · free · open Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM–12:30 PM and 1:30 PM–6:00 PM · opening reception Thursday, September 17th at 6:30 PM · European project tekhnē
Monday, October 5th, 2026
- 6:30 PM — "A Vulnerable Landscape", performance by Chantal Michelle (blown glass instruments and electronics), following her residency at the museum · Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi · free, limited capacity, booking required
Tuesday, October 6th, 2026
- 8:30 PM — "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters": Mariam Rezaei (turntables), Lukas Koenig (drums), Mette Rasmussen (alto saxophone), Gabriele Mitelli (piccolo trumpet, electronics) · Lieu NEUFNEUF, Toulouse · €10 / €12, booking via the Lieu NEUFNEUF website
Wednesday, October 7th, 2026
- 6:00 PM — Opening of the "Variations microphoniques" installation by Yann Leguay · La Cheminée, Albi · free
- 7:30 PM — Opening of the "Face A B C D / Face E" installation by Vincent Menu · Le Frigo, Albi · free
- 7:30 PM — "7 Haïkus pour un tourne-disque", performance by Yann Leguay centered on vinyl records · Le Frigo, Albi · free · European project tekhnē
Thursday, October 8th, 2026
- 10:30 PM — Kara-Lis Coverdale, organ · Église du Gesù, Toulouse · €10 / €18, booking via the Toulouse les Orgues website · in partnership with the Toulouse les Orgues festival
Friday, October 9th, 2026
- 6:30 PM — "Musiques algorithmiques", a listening session with commentary by Sébastien Roux, spatialized in a setup designed to resonate with Vincent Menu's sculptures · Le Frigo, Albi · free · European project tekhnē
- 8:30 PM — La Nòvia performs Conlon Nancarrow (Studies No. 6, 14, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 40) and Jessica Ekomane ("Délais", "Permutations", "Limites", "Plateau") · Grand Théâtre — Scène Nationale, Albi · €8 / €10, booking via the Scène Nationale website · bar and food available on-site. Featuring Antoine Cognet (banjo), Basile Brémaud (violin), Clara Levy (violin), Clément Gauthier (chabrette, vocals), Guilhem Lacroux (electric guitar, arrangements, direction), Jacques Puech (cabrette), Nina Garcia (electric guitar), Perrine Bourel (violin), Pierre-Vincent Fortunier (11p and 23p bagpipes), Yann Gourdon (electronics, programming, direction), David Fauroux (sound engineering), Grégoire Orio (lighting)
Saturday, October 10th, 2026
- 11:00 AM — Lou Renaud-Bailly (percussion) and François Mardirossian (piano) perform Moondog, with a talk by Amaury Cornut · GMEA Auditorium, Albi · free, limited capacity, booking required
- 2:30 PM — "A lexicon for solo piano improvisation", Anthony Pateras (piano), world premiere · GMEA, Albi · free, limited capacity, booking required
- 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM — Yann Gourdon (hurdy-gurdy and electronics) · L'Athanor, Albi · free
- 6:00 PM — "For John Cage" by Morton Feldman performed by Christine Wodrascka (piano), Mathieu Werchowski (violin), and Eela Laitinen (brushes) · L'Athanor, Albi · free
- 6:00 PM — The Dedalus ensemble performs three new works: "Toujours dehors" by Clara de Asís, "…where discernible form emerges out of random movements of definite proportions" by Anthony Pateras, and "Mondes flottants" by Karl Naegelen · L'Athanor, Albi · free. Featuring Didier Aschour (guitar and artistic direction), Denis Chouillet (piano), Stéphane Garin (percussion), Thierry Madiot (trombone), Christian Pruvost (trumpet), Silvia Tarozzi (violin), Deborah Walker (cello)
The three 6:00 PM events at L'Athanor form a joint evening program. Bar and food available on-site.
Sunday, October 11th, 2026
- 11:00 AM — "Tombée" by Jean-Luc Guionnet performed by Barbara Dang (double-manual harpsichord) · Le Frigo, Albi · free
- 2:30 PM — "Songs of Erosion", a reinterpretation of the Cantigas de Santa Maria by Clara Levy (violin), Victor Guaita Igual (viola), and Clara de Asís (modular synthesizer and electronics) · Protestant Temple, Albi · free
- 5:00 PM — "Sand": Perrine Bourel (violin, 5-string banjo, vocals) and Basile Brémaud (violin, vocals) · Protestant Temple, Albi · free
Ongoing, Thursday, October 8th to Sunday, October 11th
- "Variations microphoniques" installation, Yann Leguay — triptych featuring "Volta", "The Choir", and a piece created for the occasion · La Cheminée, Albi · open Thursday to Sunday, 2:00 PM–7:00 PM · free
- "Face A B C D / Face E" installation, Vincent Menu — image discs rotating at 33 rpm · Le Frigo, Albi · open Thursday to Sunday, 3:00 PM–6:30 PM · free
Prices Riverrun 2026
Three concerts are ticketed: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (Lieu NEUFNEUF, Toulouse) €10 / €12 · Kara-Lis Coverdale (Église du Gesù, Toulouse) €10 / €18 · La Nòvia (Grand Théâtre, Albi) €8 / €10.
Limited capacity and advance booking required for A Vulnerable Landscape at the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, the Moondog concert-talk, and A lexicon for solo piano improvisation at the GMEA: [email protected] or +33 (0)5 63 54 51 75.
Practical information — Riverrun
Practical Information
Access
GMEA: 4 rue Sainte-Claire, 81000 Albi. Located in the city center, a few minutes' walk from Sainte-Cécile Cathedral.
By car: Albi is accessible via the A68 from Toulouse (75 km).
By train: Albi-Ville station, a 10-minute walk from GMEA.
Booking
Most events are free. Some concerts with limited capacity require booking: [email protected] or 05 63 54 51 75.
Riverrun Festival: Musical Creation Along the Water
Since 2017, the Riverrun festival has championed contemporary musical creation in Occitanie. Organized by the GMEA — Albi-Tarn National Center for Musical Creation, one of the nine national centers for musical creation accredited by the Ministry of Culture, this event offers a bold exploration of today's music in all its forms.
A Programmatic Name
The festival's name is borrowed from the first word of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake: “riverrun,” meaning the course of the river, the continuous flow. This literary choice perfectly illustrates the festival's philosophy: music in perpetual motion, irrigating spaces and audiences, refusing boundaries between genres and disciplines.
Off-the-Beaten-Path Musical Experiences
The Riverrun festival stands out for the uniqueness of its artistic offerings. Far from conventional formats, it invites the public to unprecedented listening experiences: concerts in churches, forests, galleries, and museums, interactive sound installations, audiovisual performances, listening walks in nature, micro-concerts using wild plants, concerts played with blindfolds, and participatory workshops open to all.
The invited artists work with everyday objects, invented instruments, electronics, organs, pianos, and violins, blurring the lines between classical and popular music, acoustic and electronic, concert and performance. The festival hosts soloists and ensembles, local artists and international creators.
A Festival Between Albi and Toulouse
Riverrun unfolds over two to three weeks between Albi and Toulouse, taking over the stages of the Scène Nationale d'Albi-Tarn, the GMEA spaces on rue Sainte-Claire, and other partner venues. The majority of events are offered free of charge, in line with the GMEA's public service mission. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture — DRAC Occitanie, the Occitanie Region, the Tarn Department, and the City of Albi.
Where does it take place — Riverrun
Riverrun in brief
History of Riverrun
Edition 2025 Sep 2025Other festivals near Albi
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