Rhoda Scott and Taj Mahal have already made their blues resonate in the small Provençal town of Meyreuil, 5000 souls, near Aix-en-Provence. The social values of the blues find a beautiful echo in the heart of this territory whose history is linked to coal mining.
Moreover, in just three years of existence, the Meyreuil Blues Roots Festival has carved out a solid reputation by attracting major names. And the poster for this 4th edition promises to be just as promising and ultra-feminine.
The artistic director of the festival, André Carboulet invited the New Yorker of Dominican origin, Natalia Maria King. “She has a style that is both gospel, jazz, blues, his voice is very moving”, he confides. Born in the late 60s in Brooklyn, Natalia Maria King was spotted in the Paris metro! And very quickly, the artist assured the first parts of Diana Krall at the Olympia.
At the Meyreuil Blues Roots Festival, concerts take place outdoors in the gardens of an 18th century country house. With the Sainte-Victoire mountain dear to Cézanne as a backdrop.
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On this stage will also perform the Irish singer Kaz Hawkins. For her, the blues is an expression of survival allowing us to face hardships.
“Of his music emanates an incredible joy, as if the joy and everything she had experienced was sublimated, transformed on stage. It’s extraordinary,” continues Andre Carboulet.
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We are also expecting the Serbian artist Ana Popović. Initiated at the age of 4 on the guitar by her father, she was very quickly propelled onto the big stages with BB King in particular. “We really compare her to Jimi Hendrix with her virtuosity, in her phrasing, her musicality.”
The youngest ? It’s the Irish Grainne Duffy, with her deep voice, she grooves! His bluesy soul is mixed with country pop. “As soon as you close your eyes, you find yourself in Tennessee, in Texas, and you manage to find those intonations of the traditional blues at home.”
The American Johanna Connor will close the festival with a very powerful blues jazz rock. Virtuoso of the slide guitar, on stage she laughs, she jumps, and has fun in solos of up to 20 minutes. Each concert evening, the two artists on the bill improvise together for two or three pieces!
“The public is witness to a moment that is unique. Because you can find that in a studio sometimes in one take, but to experience it live, these are moments when you no longer breathe, you are suspended.”
André Carboulet, artistic director of the festivalat franceinfo
Reservation on the festival website