Les Rendez-vous de l’Erdre: sailing and music!
A free jazz festival coupled with an amazing regatta? This is the concept of the Rendez-vous de l'Erdre, held every year in Nantes and a few surrounding towns. Here are 3 good reasons to discover this unique event in France.
1- Because of the crazy concept!
For four days, over 150 boats float on the Erdre, their prows swelling with pride. Alongside this parade on the strip of water that François I called "the finest river in France", stages are set up on the docks or float in front of the audience! They host concerts by various jazz musicians and groups. The festival takes place over four days, with the procession of boats starting at the very beginning from Nort-sur-Erdre, where the port shines with thousands of lights for the launch, and travelling on to Nantes via Sucé-sur-Erdre.
2- Because the event is 100% free
Les Rendez-vous de l'Erdre is the country's only free jazz festival! This is quite a feat if one considers that this major event, spread along 28 kilometres of river, brings together 150,000 spectators and offers around 100 quality concerts, many of them in Nantes. No less than eight stages are set up in the Cité des Ducs, and a few towns along the Erdre also host different groups.
3- Because the casting is carefully chosen
With steam boats, elegant sailing dinghies, wonderful keelboats and more, the various crafts that take part in the event are meticulously selected, as are the musicians, whether big international names or emerging local talents! Bernard Lubat, Magma, Jean-Jacques Milteau, China Moses, Didier Lockwood and Alice Russel, to name a few, have already taken part in the Rendez-vous de l’Erdre, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2016.