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 2024
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
2025, the 25th edition of Crescendo, a quarter of a century, that’s something !
In these troubled times we're all going through, and wherever on the planet we find ourselves living through difficult and inhuman times for some, what could be better than Music in all its forms, and in this case Progressive Rock, to lighten the spirits, relax the souls, forget everyday worries and experience happy moments of sharing, exchange and conviviality.
Unfortunately, we deplore the disappearance of the Lorelei, Europe's biggest prog festival, which presented its last edition in 2024, as well as the Prog en Beauce. Two events less to celebrate our favorite musical genre, it's very sad, but rest assured, Crescendo is on the right track and the whole team is doing its utmost to continue offering you a quality festival.
After a tough selection process in view of the high level of the 78 international and 38 french bands who applied for this 25th edition, the Concié stage will host 10 bands from North America and Europe including a new kind of band that's sure to surprise you. 😉
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. A special mention to our technical buddies who have been doing an exceptional job for so long: Yann, Arnaud and Hugo on sound, and Jean-Claude and Florian on lighting.
Festival-goers, artists, volunteers, technicians, Crescendo is more than a festival, it's a big, beautiful family.
Let there be Music !
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.
Festival Dates
August 15th, 16th & 17th - 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.
The anticiped dates for 2025 are August 22th to 24th.
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 !