Starting Blocks
The festival for students of Jazz à Tours
About Starting Blocks
The musical springboard of Jazz à Tours
Every year in June, Le Temps Machine in Joué-lès-Tours hosts Starting Blocks, the festival that highlights the work of students and workshops from Jazz à Tours, a leading school for contemporary and improvised music in the Centre-Val de Loire region. For eight days of free concerts, over 250 musicians present the results of a year or more of work.
Over 250 musicians on stage
Each edition, Starting Blocks brings together around 28 workshops and over 160 musicians who perform in groups of all styles:
- Jazz in all its variations (bebop, swing, contemporary jazz)
- Rock and amplified music
- Funk and groove
- Contemporary and experimental music
A rich and varied repertoire
The Starting Blocks concerts reflect the richness of musical influences of the Jazz à Tours students. From covers of standards to original creations, the groups offer an eclectic repertoire that testifies to the vitality of the emerging musical scene in Tours.
Le Temps Machine: a venue for contemporary music
The festival takes place at Le Temps Machine, a contemporary music venue located at Parvis Miles Davis in Joué-lès-Tours. This leading cultural facility offers professional technical conditions that allow young musicians to perform in optimal conditions.
Free and accessible evenings
All Starting Blocks concerts are free and without reservation. Evenings start at 7:30 PM, allowing families, friends, and music lovers to come and support the musicians in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Jazz à Tours: a school of excellence
Jazz à Tours is a music school specializing in jazz and improvised music, recognized for the quality of its teaching. The school offers amateur and professional training, supporting musicians in their artistic development. Starting Blocks is the highlight of the year, offering students a professional and rewarding stage experience.
Starting Blocks — edition 2026
2026 edition of the Starting Blocks festival, from Monday, June 15 to Friday, June 19, 2026 at Le Temps Machine, Parvis Miles Davis in Joué-lès-Tours. Five free evenings dedicated to groups and workshops from the Jazz à Tours school, with a repertoire ranging from jazz to rock, hip-hop, and world music.
Five free evenings to close the year at Jazz à Tours
From June 15 to 19, 2026, the Starting Blocks festival returns to Le Temps Machine in Joué-lès-Tours for five evenings of entirely free concerts. Each edition features about thirty groups and workshops from the Jazz à Tours school and brings together over a hundred musicians in training.
On the Spatiale stage of Le Temps Machine, students present the fruit of a year (or more) of collective work: professional training workshops, Licence ensembles, leisure workshops, vocal workshops. The repertoire is broad — jazz, rock, funk, pop, hip-hop, contemporary music, world music — and reflects the diversity of influences studied at the school.
Admission to the evenings is free, without reservation, allowing the public to discover tomorrow's local scene in professional concert conditions.
Highlights Starting Blocks 2026
- 5 evenings of free concerts, from June 15 to 19, 2026
- About thirty groups and workshops from Jazz à Tours
- Over 100 musicians in training on stage
- Jazz, rock, hip-hop, contemporary and world music repertoire
- At Le Temps Machine (Parvis Miles Davis, Joué-lès-Tours), free admission without reservation
Prices Starting Blocks 2026
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Where does it take place — Starting Blocks
Le Temps Machine
Parvis Miles Davis, 45-49 rue des Martyrs, 37300 Joué-lès-Tours