Jazz à Juan 2013 Music Festival Jul 12–21, 2013

Every July in the French Riviera, thousands of eager music lovers head to Jazz à Juan, the oldest running jazz festival in all of Europe. Jazz à Juan’s roots are firmly planted in 1920s Juan-les-Pins, a resort town where American expatriates Ernest Hemmingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald would meet at music clubs during the Jazz Age, helping to cement the music genre’s lasting popularity in the area and world.

Since its first iteration in 1960, Jazz à Juan has hosted world-renowned performers like Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Roy Hargrove, Richard Bona, Norah Jones, and Carlos Santana, among countless other legends. Jazz à Juan is held at La Pinède Gould, a perfect, beautiful backdrop just steps away from the beach, with two tiers of seating and a capacity of more than 2,500.

What separates Jazz à Juan from many other festivals is not only its history, but its consistent ability to push the boundaries of jazz by demanding its performers’ best shows, while encouraging a free flow exchange of ideas between other performers, leading to the fusion of Hard-Bop, Cool Jazz, Blues, Gospel, Latin Jazz, and Swing music.

Attendees from across the globe enjoy the nearly two weeks or music by soaking up the French Riviera sun before and during Jazz à Juan shows and taking advantage of the upscale Juan-les-Pins party scene at night, further establishing Jazz à Juan as an international summer destination.

Tickets for Jazz à Juan vary in price depending on performer and fluctuate from year to year, so make sure to check in annually. The festival usually begins around 8:30pm each night and ends past midnight.