Tribute to Calvin Russell
Robert Finley
Shakura S'Aida

In 2022, Anglo-saxon-music-temple Traverse, in Cléon, asked Manu Lanvin to orchestrate and pay tribute to its close friend, Texan artist Calvin Russell, who was one of the French and European blues-rock scene's most unmissable songwriters and who sadly passed away in 2011. In a handful of days, the show was sold out — a sign of the place his charisma, simple melodies and poignant lyrics still held in French listeners’ hearts. The concert's success led to the idea of a tribute album, whose release, on 7 June, was an opportunity for people from all kinds of backgrounds to get together - some had personally known Calvin whereas others had recently discovered his work. For this exceptional concert, Manu Lanvin will be accompanied by Beverly Jo Scott, Théo Charaf, Neal Black, Gérard Lanvin and Johnny Gallagher to bring this repertoire — at the crossroads between blues, rock and country music — back to life.

Don't let the release date of his debut album, Age Don’t Mean a Thing (2016) fool you: aged 70, Robert Finley's story is worthy of a novel. A self-taught guitarist — shaped by gospel music —, carpenter, and technician in the US army for a time, this Louisiana native long swayed between periods of relative prominence and anonymity before being properly recognised in the mid-2010s, even becoming a semi-finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2019. Both on stage and in the studio, his experience is unmistakeable: his soul-infused voice opens a window onto a whole era of American music history and an entire and supremely precious collective memory. His first concert at the festival will be momentous.

Line-up :

• Robert Finley (vocals)
• Christy Johnson (backing vocals)
• Liam Hart (guitar)
• Ollie Hopkins (bass)
• Charlie Love (drums)

All of the great blues vocalists have found their own way to breathe life into a tradition that is at the source of almost all contemporary music. From his very first release in 2008, Shakura S’Aida's personality and voice — powerful and yet able to express the full palette of blue in soul and rock — have set her apart. While her lyrics give prominence to the essential blues themes of love sickness and day-to-day adversity, she has explored them in an increasingly personal way, added an inimitable autobiographic dash and progressively ventured more towards funk, gospel and Americana. Her latest album, Hold on to Love, which came out in 2022, is a case in point: her music, at the peak of her artistry, has never been so diverse, intense and spirited.

Line-up :

• Shakura S’Aida (lead vocals)
• Tristan Clark (lead guitar)
• Maurice Gordon (2nd guitar)
• Roger Williams (bass)
• Aubrey Dayle (drums)
   
• Guillaume Tricard (manager)