Garorock 2025: programming, new owner, development of the site in Marmande, secrets from director Ludovic Larbodie

The meeting is given at the Cave du Marmandais. This is where the organizers of Garorock invited partners and patrons of the festival to reveal, before everyone else, the names of the first artists who will be there from July 3 to 6, 2025. At the microphone, with his inimitable tone, Ludovic Larbodie reviews the headliners confirmed for this 29th edition.

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From the international scene, big names from the French scene, rock, rap and electro, the “cocktail” of this 2025 vintage looks promising. “Other big names will arrive in the coming days, we are waiting for the signature of the managers who are between two planes on the other side of the world” reveals the historic boss of Garorock. Further proof that the Lot-et-Garonnais festival plays in the big leagues, in direct competition with international events.

Plaine de la Filhole: “We are ready to pay rent if there is work”

Garo is of course in “competition” with festivals in France and Europe to have the best programming. The upheaval of recent years in the industry has added complexity to the construction of musical events. “Today, there are festivals all over the world, with a strong push in Asia or the Emirates” continues Ludovic Larbodie. The means are not the same either, then comes the question of artists’ fees, which are always more greedy. “There is only live music to make money since the fall in record sales. Streaming doesn’t make money.” The budget remains the crux of the matter for the largest festival in the South-West. But the attendance – 120,000 festival-goers over the four days of the event in 2024 – leaves some room for maneuver. Just like the arrival of a new shareholder.

The next edition of the Lot-et-Garonnais festival will be the first under the era of the German group CTS Eventim. The purchase from Vivendi was concluded just a few days before the last edition kicked off in June. The leaders only spent a few hours on the festival site, just to understand the scale of the phenomenon. “For this year, they gave us great flexibility” assures Ludovic Larbodie. When the dates for the 2025 edition were announced, Lukas Leidreiter, one of the German officials, expressed his desire “to continue to write the history of this great festival in Marmande”. But is the Cité de la Tomate ready to implement the necessary developments to make Garorock prosper on the banks of the Garonne – such as electrifying the Filhole plain for example? Nothing is less certain, because this equipment is still not programmed. “We are ready to pay rent if there is major work. As is done everywhere when there is an important festival” complains the boss Garorock. “It is the choice of the City of Marmande for the moment” he says, taking care not to “not want to get involved in politics”. The ball is in the communities’ court. A gift idea for the 30th anniversary of the festival which is coming up in 2026, perhaps?