the essential
A true musical pilgrimage, the Festival d’Autan will be taking to the roads of Occitan from July 10 to 20, 2024. And for its ninth edition, the event is in keeping with current events by choosing the Olympic Games as its theme.
A musical summer, under the sign of the Olympic Games. The Autan Festival returns for its ninth edition, from July 10 to 20, 2024. Woven across three different departments, the event invites the most curious to discover legendary concerts.
Since 2016, this traveling festival has been crisscrossing the region to set up in the emblematic settings of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne and Aveyron. Through concerts, this artistic journey aims to combine classical music and Occitan heritage. “For twelve days, the public will have the opportunity to discover concerts of very high artistic standards, in the heart of jewels of local heritage,” assures Julien Moquet, member of the festival’s organizing team.
Powerful meetings, around a varied program
An unmissable summer event that promotes cultural diversity and the crossover of styles. This year again, Autan welcomes many artists of national and international reputation. Through a unique program, the festival travels to the four corners of the world: Asian music, gypsy jazz, double bass. Among them, a Chinese composer, a graduate of the National Conservatory of Music in Tianjin. She studies Erhua type of Chinese violin, which she will perform on Wednesday July 10 at the Chapelle Royale in Rodez.
Each concert will be preceded by a historical tour of the venue, starting at 7 p.m. The festival will kick off at the Hôtel Reynes in Albi, with a concert and a wine tasting, for a special time to meet the artists. In total, the traveling festival offers six events in the Tarn: The church of Gabriac in Cadalen, the church of Carla in Castelnau-de-Lévis, the Pavillon Adélaïde in Burlats, the Toulouse Lautrec Museum in Albi… Venues in which opera and baroque music will be the guests of honor.
And for this year 2024, the festival is based on current sports events, having chosen the Olympic Games as its common thread. Several winks have been slipped into the program. “Each concert title refers to sport,” adds Julien Moquet. Concerts “in three halves” and “Olympiades”, the festival hopes that this new edition “will be a vector of emotions and meetings across Occitania!”
