Les Grosses Guitares Festival: good old-fashioned blues-rock!

On Saturday 19 September, Les Grosses Guitares will return to L’InterValle in Vaugneray (69) with Deborah Bonham and Ally Venable. For its 26th edition, the festival is returning to a distinctly blues-rock line-up, true to a story that began in 2001. Serge Jagnoux, one of its organisers, tells Blues Actu about the origins of the project and the reasons behind bringing these two generations together on the same stage.

Les Grosses Guitares has now been known by this name for twenty-five years. The story began in 2001 with Pierre Olivier Kalfon, then president of La Cécilienne music school in Messimy. A “fan of blues-rock, electric guitars and a big sound”, as Serge Jagnoux recalls, he came up with the idea of an event dedicated to this music. The festival then became independent in 2005 with the creation of the Messimy Blues-Rock association.

From the outset, the project was built around two main ideas. The first focused on regional bands. The aim was to offer them “a fully equipped stage where they could perform in front of an audience that had come to listen to them”. Initially known as the Blues-Rock Academy, the initiative later became the Tremplin des Grosses Guitares. Held every spring, the competition gives its winners the opportunity to open the festival evenings in the autumn.

It is a principle to which the organisers remain committed. “What hasn’t changed is our desire to offer regional bands good stage conditions and an attentive audience, so they can express themselves as fully as possible,” insists Serge Jagnoux. This year, Since, one of the winners of the 2026 competition, will open the evening on 19 September.

Blues-rock since 2001

The second aspect is the festival itself, held in the autumn, usually over one or two evenings in September and November. In its early years, Les Grosses Guitares regularly turned to bands that had made their mark on the history of blues-rock and British rock.

“The original idea was to book well-established French and international bands with a blues-rock sound,” explains Serge Jagnoux, citing Ten Years After, Wishbone Ash, Dr Feelgood, Little Bob and Eddie and The Hot Rods. Over the years, the line-up has opened up to a new generation with Manu Lanvin, Ana Popovic, Laura Cox and Johnny Gallagher, while also occasionally venturing into heavier rock territory.

The direction nevertheless remains clear: “Our aim is to retain a predominantly blues-rock line-up, with a few variations depending on the opportunities that arise. We try to find bands for our audience that do not often perform in the region, while maintaining a friendly atmosphere and a sense of closeness between the artists and the audience.”

“Blues-rock, rock, a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and a close connection between the artists and the audience thanks to the venue’s limited capacity.” –

Serge Jagnoux

Deborah Bonham, much more than a famous name

For 2026, the intention was to return to an immediately recognisable line-up. “We wanted a clearly defined blues-rock programme for this season,” confirms Serge Jagnoux. Deborah Bonham quickly emerged as one of the artists the team wanted to book.

The British singer had been on the festival’s shortlist for several years. The sister of John Bonham, the drummer of Led Zeppelin, she has built her own career spanning rock, blues and soul, notably alongside guitarist Peter Bullick.

For Serge Jagnoux, her career fits almost naturally with the original concept behind Les Grosses Guitares: “Through her experience, the musical world she has been immersed in since her teenage years and throughout her career, she perfectly embodies the very idea behind the festival: good old blues-rock. Prominent guitars, a powerful voice and stage presence, and experienced musicians.”

Ally Venable, the breakout star of the summer festivals

Alongside her, Ally Venable represents another generation. The Texan guitarist is now well known to Blues Actu readers. We notably caught up with her this summer in Brezoi, Romania, and later at the Megève Blues Festival, two events supported by Blues Actu. We will also soon be publishing an interview conducted by Marc Loison.

Originally from Kilgore, Texas, Ally Venable began playing guitar at the age of 12 before forming her first band the following year. Since then, her career has gathered momentum. Texas Honey, Heart Of Fire, Real Gone and Money & Power, released by Ruf Records in 2025, have established her as one of the leading names on today’s blues-rock scene. Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Shemekia Copeland and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram have all crossed paths with her on record.

Her name was already circulating among the Les Grosses Guitares audience. “She is a rising artist whose live clips are widely shared on social media.” Her 2026 European tour provided an opportunity to bring her to Vaugneray. “It gives our audience the chance to discover her live, and they seem interested as people have been mentioning her to us for some time now.”

Two generations on the same stage

Bringing Deborah Bonham and Ally Venable together ultimately tells much of the story and captures the essence of Les Grosses Guitares in a single evening. On one side is an experienced artist who grew up in an environment deeply shaped by British rock and the blues. On the other is a 27-year-old guitarist who now tours Europe extensively and is steadily reaching an ever-wider audience.

It is a pairing fully embraced by the organisers: “Bringing them together means combining experience and youth on the same stage, while showing that blues-rock is still going strong and speaks to every generation.”

Twenty-five years after the first edition, the recipe has not changed very much: guitars, artists whom local audiences do not often have the opportunity to see, a venue with limited capacity and a place reserved for regional bands. On Saturday 19 September, Deborah Bonham and Ally Venable will take their turn performing for the Les Grosses Guitares audience.

And there is more to come: Les Grosses Guitares will return to Messimy on Saturday 7 November for the second part of its 26th edition.