Crescendo Festival
Introduction
The Crescendo Festival is a FREE music festival dedicated to progressive music genres (progressive rock, progressive metal, psychedelic rock) held annually in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, in the outskirts of Royan, since 1999. Bringing together artists from both the national and international scenes (from Sweden to Peru to the United States), and attracting around 1500 to 2000 spectators each night over three days, it is one of the most significant progressive music festivals in Europe!
Teaser 2025
The festival is overseen by an association and partly operates thanks to volunteering; it is entirely free of charge.
Heavent Festival Awards Paris 2024
The Crescendo Festival was honoured on November 13th in Paris by winning the Award for Best European Festival with a capacity of under 5,000 people by day, in front of a jury of 12 leading figures from major event international companies.
Thank you to the whole team for having contributed to this success for over 20 years.
The editorial from the boss
Want to travel? Want a change of scenery and musical dreams? All without leaving home, while enjoying the ocean? Book your flight nr 0820 2026 with Crescendo Airlines, head to the Concié boarding gate, and let yourself go.
The captain and his crew will take you to the USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, England, Austria, and of course France for a three-day trip on either side of the Atlantic with extraordinary musical encounters and discoveries.
After receiving 126 applications from bands around the world between September and December, including 62 from France this year (!!), the artistic team has been hard at work to bring you these 10 hand-picked concerts. Get your ears ready for some great moments!
I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to the Mayor of St-Palais sur Mer and to everyone in the city who has helped and supported us for so many years.
Not forgetting our public and private partners and, of course, our loyal volunteers, without whom nothing would be possible. Special thanks to our technician friends who have been doing an exceptional job for so long: Yann, Arnaud, and Rémy on sound, and Jean-Claude and Florian on lighting.
Thank you all for your loyalty to Crescendo, which is much more than a festival, it's a wonderful and big family.
May the Music be with Us !
Jeanmi Picot, President
Location
The festival takes place on the Concié beach located in Saint-Palais-sur-mer in Charente-Maritime.
Access to the Concié site is possible by car from Royan via the Royan ring road or from the center of Saint-Palais-sur-Mer through the Avenue de la Grande-Côte. Coming from La Palmyre, access is direct via the D25. Traffic is often extremely heavy on these routes. Coming from the heart of the Arvert peninsula, La Tremblade, Arvert, Étaules, or Saint-Augustin, the D145 and D141 are less busy.
A network of bicycle paths allows reaching the festival site from Royan and Vaux-sur-Mer. The greenway from Ronce-les-Bains to Saint-Palais-sur-Mer is a bike path that provides access to the site from Ronce-les-Bains and La Palmyre.
The urban transportation of the Royan area (Cara'Bus) serves the event site.
We reserve a part of the Esplanade for free parking of your vehicle.
2026 Festival Dates
August 20th, 21st & 22nd - Opening of the site at 5:00pm
It is possible to attend the bands' sound check during the day from 11am.
The festival normally takes place every year in the second half of August, generally the third week-end of the month.
See the upcoming schedule.
Accommodations and Catering
At the festival bar you will find drinks : beers, wine, softs and water.
And you will eat : Snacking with sandwiches, sausages with french fries, vegetarian bowls, pancakes, hotdogs, popcorn. Prices from 3 to 9 €
In our list of sponsors and local partners, you will find:
- restaurants,
- hotels,
- snack bars,
- cafes,
- breweries, etc.
List of partners sponsoring the event.
Prohibitions
To ensure the safety and well-being of all festival participants, certain items are prohibited on the site. You will find the list below. Your cooperation is essential to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
- 💣 Firearms/powder or ammunition
- 🧳 Large bags (10L maximum), luggage
- 📣 Megaphones, loudspeakers
- 🎆 Lasers
- 🛸 Drones
- 🐕 Animals (except assistance dogs)
- 🍾 Glass or plastic bottles and liquids
- 🪓 Sharp, blunt, cutting objects
- 🧯 Aerosols, sprays, tear gas
- 🧪 Exceptional chemicals
- 🔥 Flammable products, gas bottles, fire starters, lighters
- 🍲 Food (except for medical necessity)
- 🛢️ Metal cans
- 🧨 Fireworks, firecrackers, distress flares
- 🔫 Toy guns
Visitors will be subject to security checks. Some items will be kept in storage. Other items may be added to this list depending on the security requirements of the festival.
Furthermore,
- ⛺️Wild camping is prohibited on the Concié site !