... and La Roche-sur-Foron, 30 July-3 August

The audience at twilight (photo: Lilly Pavlak)

The European Bluegrass Music Festival and Band Contest was held for the third time at La Roche-sur-Foron, Haute-Savoie, France on 30 July-3 August. An estimated 8,000–10,000 people attended the festival this year.

Organised by Christopher Howard-Williams, chairman of the FBMA, and supported by the town’s mayor, the Tourist Bureau, and as many as 150 volunteers, the festival presented thirty bands from eleven different countries, including 3 Fox Drive from the US, in twenty-four hours of free concerts over the five days.

The winners of the title of European Band of the Year 2008 were

#1: Monogram (CZ)
#2: Toy Hearts (GB)
#3 (shared): G-Runs & Roses (CZ), Wyrton (CZ)


Members of the winning bands after the awards (photo: Lilly Pavlak)

A full report by Lilly Pavlak, with more photos, is also scheduled to appear in Bluegrass Europe.