Nearly 5,000 country music lovers gathered last weekend at the 31 country music festival to dance on the floor of the Jean Jaurès park in Muret, despite mixed weather conditions. This is the 22nd edition of the Muret festival.
The Country 31 association has existed for 25 years. “We organize an annual festival, it did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic that everyone experienced, explains Christian Ratier, secretary of Country 31. But an edition barely finished that we are working on the next country festival. A festival that I remind you is free thanks to subsidies from the town hall and sponsors. Seven food trucks were present during this weekend, a refreshment bar and other varied exhibitors to feed country fans. A great success this year again, the dance floor was full of country girls and country men.” Three days of country during which three different groups followed one another, with Kendall’s Country Band, Backwest and Lilly West & Her Burning Band. A new feature this year is the organization of a dance workshop with country specialist Lilly West, who had a hundred dancers dancing in unison for her first time at the Muret Country 31 festival. “The country workshop is a time for exchange and learning that encourages collaboration between dancers. We did three choreographies for each level: beginner, intermediate and advanced.” Lilly West released her latest album this winter, “An album recorded in Nashville in the United States, “Nashville, au fil du temps”, is an album of covers of the great standards of country singers from 1955 to the present day.” Every year, there are regulars at the Country 31 festival, Jean-François, known as Jeffy, comes to Muret every year, “I took part in the workshop, it was great. I sleep country, I eat country, in short, I live country.”
www.lillywest.fr et www.country31.fr
