Gypsy Lyon Festival 2019
Lyon’s gypsy festival is completely free of charge! ©STRICKLERD
What Makes a Festival a Gypsy Festival?
The Gypsy Festival is organised by the association Les Canuts des Canits. This year marks the festival’s 10th birthday.
The festival is a multidisciplinary celebration of art. Above all, it’s the discovery of nomad and gypsy culture that makes Lyon’s Gypsy festival unique. A convivial atmosphere, discovery of other cultures, and social and environmental responsibility: the foundations of Lyon’s Gypsy festival.
What’s New This Year?
The festival remains completely FREE of charge, but there’s plenty of changes this year:
- The programme is more diverse than ever before, with a mix of modern and traditional sounds, music and theatre, and even a night of music completely left up to the wills of DJ Click.
- Aside from the music, there will be workshops for children, flamenco dancing, and meetings between the public and Lyon’s artists.
- The festival has established more projects to promote environmental responsibility, such as food trucks with bio and local food, reusable cups and recycling of rubbish.
The Programme: From Place Bertone to Parc de la Cerisaie
Come listen to the traditional sounds of gypsy and nomad music at Lyon’s Gypsy Festival. ©STRICKLERD
The festival takes place across four nights: from Thursday 23rd May until Sunday 26th May. Thursday night takes place at Place Bertone whilst subsequent nights take place at Parc de la Cerisaie, both of which are in Lyon’s 4th arrondissement.
Thursday 23rd May
The night kicks off with the Gypsy Lyon Festival Trio at 7pm. Next up is El Sébastiano at 8:20pm – a regular at the festival. Festival-goers can look forward to dancing to the sound of his guitar. Finishing the night at 9:45pm are Le Fil d’Ariane, 6 musicians playing traditional Balkan music with a hint of rock’n’roll attitude.
Friday 24th May
Start the night off with the Balkanes at 7:30pm, a female group composed of 2 Lyonnaise and 2 Bulgarians. Marcela y Los Murchales take over at 9pm with their gypsy music and flamboyant costumes and dancing. Captain Stambolov at 9:30pm – a Lyonnaise gypsy band – are followed by DJ Soumnakaï at midnight (if you can stay up that late!) – who will play a mixture of gypsy-heritage music.
Saturday 25th May
First up is Ema Deï, who will get the night started with a gypsy dance masterclass. Secondly, the enigmatic voice of folklore and gypsy singer Masha Natanson graces the stage, followed by the trio Zoord at 8:20pm, whose music is optimistic and powerful, due to their mastery of the Jewish harp, drums, violin and voice. Next up is one of the most talented trumpetists of the Balkans, Saša Krstić Orkestar, followed by the work of DJ Click, and the Balkan club music of Baltic Balkan.
Sunday 26th May
On Sunday afternoon, at 2:30pm, Maria Abatantuono, invites you to join her, along with clarinetist Akram Chaïb and violinist ad percussionist Rabah Hamrene to travel to a world full of emotion, influenced by gypsy and Mediterranean sounds. At 3:30pm, you can explore swing music with the trio Padam Partie. Lastly, closing the festival at 5:30pm are the acoustic group Les Doigts de l’Homme.