Variations
Festival of music for piano and keyboards
About Variations
Created in 2017 by the Lieu Unique in partnership with the BNP Paribas Foundation, Variations is the festival of adventurous music around the piano and keyboards in Nantes. Every spring, for about ten days, the festival takes over the Lieu Unique, Pannonica/Salle Paul-Fort, the Théâtre Graslin, the Musée d'arts de Nantes, the Chapelle de l'Immaculée, the Cinématographe, and other emblematic venues in the Nantes metropolitan area to offer around thirty concerts exploring the creative richness of the keyboard in classical, jazz, electronic, experimental, improvised, traditional, and pop music. A pioneering and demanding festival, Variations hosts the finest international avant-garde music and offers unique listening formats: concerts in a lying position, solo performances where the spectator is alone with the musician, talks, screenings, live A/V, and club nights. The festival is supported by Nantes Métropole, the Pays de la Loire Region, and the Department of Loire-Atlantique.
Travel to this festival
Book your train or bus to reach Variations at the best price.
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Variations: The European meeting point for piano and keyboard music
Since 2017, the Variations festival has established itself as a major European event dedicated to contemporary and experimental music for piano and keyboards. Supported by the Lieu Unique, Nantes' center for contemporary cultures, and the BNP Paribas Foundation, Variations each year explores the keyboard in all its forms—from the most classical to the most experimental—by welcoming the finest international avant-garde musicians.
An audacious and cross-genre program
Each edition, Variations offers around thirty concerts that traverse genres and aesthetics:
- Contemporary and classical music: repertoire works and creations for solo piano, keyboard ensembles, organ, and harpsichord, with internationally renowned performers.
- Jazz and improvisation: pianists and keyboardists exploring the territories of contemporary jazz, free improvisation, and world music.
- Electronic and experimental: synthesizers, live electronics, audiovisual performances, and post-club music, with pioneering artists from the international electronic scene.
- Pop, hyperpop, and current music: unique artists reinventing the role of the keyboard in popular music.
Unique listening formats
One of Variations' hallmarks is the diversity of its listening formats. Beyond the traditional concert, the festival offers:
- Concerts in a lying position (Pianoscape): an immersive and meditative experience where the audience lies down to listen to the piano.
- Intimate solo concerts: the spectator is alone with the musician, in a privileged dialogue.
- Talks and meetings: exchanges between artists, musicologists, and the public about the works and aesthetics.
- Screenings and live A/V: cinema and audiovisual performances related to the keyboard.
- Club nights: nocturnal electronic programming and dancefloor.
A nomadic festival rooted at the Lieu Unique
While the Lieu Unique remains the festival's epicenter, Variations adopts a nomadic dimension by taking over numerous cultural venues in Nantes and its metropolitan area: Pannonica/Salle Paul-Fort, Théâtre Graslin, Musée d'arts de Nantes, Chapelle de l'Immaculée, Cinématographe, Stereolux, Salons Mauduit, Macadam, Ohm Town, and the Auditorium/La Soufflerie in Rezé. This multi-venue presence transforms the Nantes metropolitan area into a vast landscape of musical discovery.
A commitment to emerging talent and diversity
True to its pioneering spirit, Variations showcases both established international artists and emerging talents. The festival champions the diversity of aesthetics, gender parity, and accessibility, with free events and affordable ticket prices to reach a broad, curious, and novice audience.
Variations — edition 2026
The 10th edition of Variations will take place from April 4 to 12, 2026, at the Lieu Unique and in many venues across the Nantes metropolitan area. For its tenth anniversary, the festival will feature around thirty concerts with artists including EinstĂĽrzende Neubauten, Actress, Suzanne Ciani, Smerz, Jim O'Rourke, and Kim Gordon.
Variations 2026 — 10th edition
The Variations festival celebrates its tenth anniversary with a 10th edition taking place from April 4 to 12, 2026, at the Lieu Unique and in numerous venues in Nantes and its metropolitan area. Over nine days, around thirty concerts will highlight the creative richness of the keyboard across contemporary, jazz, electronic, experimental, traditional, and pop music.
An exceptional anniversary program
For this anniversary edition, Variations welcomes internationally renowned artists:
- EinstĂĽrzende Neubauten: the German pioneers of industrial music, in an exceptional concert.
- Actress: a major figure in British experimental electronic music.
- Suzanne Ciani: a pioneer of modular synthesis and the Buchla synthesizer.
- Smerz: a Norwegian duo of experimental and club electronics.
- Jim O'Rourke: a multifaceted American composer, guitarist, and producer.
- Kim Gordon: an iconic artist, co-founder of Sonic Youth.
- Heinali & Plus: a Ukrainian creator of electronic and ambient music.
The program also includes Melaine Dalibert, Suzan Peeters, and La Novia, among other emerging artists from Europe, Asia, and America.
Festival venues
The festival will take over the Lieu Unique, the Théâtre Graslin, the Musée d'arts de Nantes, the Cinématographe, Pannonica/Salle Paul-Fort, the Chapelle de l'Immaculée, and the Auditorium/La Soufflerie in Rezé.
Programme Variations 2026
Variations 2026 Program
The program for the 10th edition includes:
Headliners
- EinstĂĽrzende Neubauten: industrial and experimental music
- Actress: experimental electronics
- Suzanne Ciani: Buchla modular synthesis
- Smerz: experimental and club electronics
- Jim O'Rourke: composition and guitar
- Kim Gordon: experimental rock and art
Other announced artists
- Heinali & Plus: electronics and ambient
- Melaine Dalibert: piano and algorithmic music
- Suzan Peeters
- La Novia
Venues
- Lieu Unique (Grand Atelier, Salon de Musique, Bar)
- Théâtre Graslin
- Musée d'arts de Nantes
- Cinématographe
- Pannonica / Salle Paul-Fort
- Chapelle de l'Immaculée
- Auditorium / La Soufflerie (Rezé)
Highlights Variations 2026
To remember for 2026
- Dates: Saturday, April 4 to Sunday, April 12, 2026
- 10th anniversary edition of the festival
- EinstĂĽrzende Neubauten, Actress, Suzanne Ciani, Smerz, Jim O'Rourke, Kim Gordon
- Around thirty concerts in seven venues across the Nantes metropolitan area
- Ticketing at lelieuunique.com
Prices Variations 2026
Practical information — Variations
Practical information
Access and transport
By tram: Line 1, stop "Duchesse Anne" (a 3-minute walk from the Lieu Unique). The Lieu Unique is located next to Nantes SNCF train station.
By bus: Lines C1, C2, and 12, stop "Gare SNCF" or "Duchesse Anne".
By bike: Bicloo station immediately near the Lieu Unique. Bicycle parking available.
By car: From the Nantes ring road, follow the direction Centre-Ville / Gare Sud. Paid parking "Gare Sud" is 100 meters from the Lieu Unique.
By train: Nantes station (TGV from Paris in 2h15), the Lieu Unique is located right next to the station, a 2-minute walk via the South exit.
Festival venues
Le Lieu Unique: 2 quai Ferdinand-Favre, 44000 Nantes — main festival venue (Grand Atelier, Salon de Musique, Bar).
Pannonica / Salle Paul-Fort: 9 rue Basse-Porte, 44000 Nantes — jazz and current music venue.
Théâtre Graslin: 1 rue Molière, 44000 Nantes — Nantes Opera House.
Musée d'arts de Nantes: 10 rue Georges-Clemenceau, 44000 Nantes.
Chapelle de l'Immaculée: 6 rue Malherbe, 44000 Nantes.
Other venues: Cinématographe, Stereolux, Salons Mauduit, Macadam, Ohm Town, and Auditorium/La Soufflerie in Rezé.
Ticketing
Full price: €10. Reduced price: €7 (upon presentation of proof of less than 3 months old). Some events are free and open to all. Online ticketing at lelieuunique.com and on-site at the Lieu Unique.
Accessibility
The Lieu Unique is accessible to people with reduced mobility. For any specific requests, please contact the team at [email protected] or by phone at 02 40 12 14 34.
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Travel to this festival
Book your train or bus to reach Variations at the best price.
Sponsored link
Where does it take place — Variations
Le Lieu Unique
2 quai Ferdinand-Favre, 44000 Nantes