Luzy: Fête de l'Accordéon

Luzy is a small historic town in Bourgogne. As an aspiring musician, I head to Fête de l'Accordéon (the accordion festival) in Luzy with mixed feelings. Sadly, most of the popular repertoire for accordion is plain kitch… so I wonder what are the chances of not wasting the weekend.

I am late for the festival opening and end up stuck in traffic. Ironically, the traffic jam is caused by the parade of accordionists. Then, the first few hours after arrival are no better. No one seem to know where the camping is, or where to find showers. The initial stage performances represent musical taste different from mine.

Then, little by little, the situation develops interestingly. In the crowd, initially random, I gradually notice more and more musicians. Some start jamming on the corners and squares of the town. By the dusk, the tiny Luzy is overwhelmed by spontaneous music of all kinds. It becomes magical and continues so for the next 48 hours.

On the next morning, with the accordion on my back, I stop for a coffee. The café owner asks for no money, instead asking up-front “qu'allez-vous faire de cet accordéon ici ?" Apparently I am expected to play rather than pay. I accept the challenge. Soon there’s more of us and the jamming continues until noon… then afternoon… then evening…

Late in the night I capture a short video (below). The jamming in the kitchen towards the end features the group Ork (Charlotte Espieussas, Akram Chaïb, Florent Manneveau, and Jean-Loup Perry) among other excellent musicians whose names I unfortunately did not remember.

Many of us go to sleep after breakfast, or not at all.

PS. Some additional photos from the festival can be found in this FB post.