Kan ar Bobl ( Breton for ''Song of the people'') is a Breton music competition created in 1973, that takes place in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

as part of the

Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celts (modern), Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual ...

. It was the brainchild of Polig Montjarret.

Presentation

At the time of the festival's inauguration,

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celts (modern), Celtic people of Northwestern Europe (the modern Celtic nations). It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and ...

was quite popular, with

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a Breton people, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specif ...

, Dan Ar Braz, Glenmor and Gilles Servat being big names in the field. Quickly, its success had put pressure on the organisers to hold local heats all over

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

before the final (1975). This formula is still in use today, and offers the advantage that only the best musicians can play at the final. Since 1993, the festivities have been held in

Pontivy Pontivy (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. ...

(

Morbihan The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

), and in 1997 it was passed into the hands of its eponym. Since 1990, a "Grand Prix of Kan ar Bobl" is given to the winners of different competitions. In 2005, the ''Kanit ta bugale'' trophy was set up, in honour of Polig Montjarret, who died in 2003. The Kan ar Bobl festival marks an important date in the Breton cultural diary as it boasts a meet-up of hundreds of musicians and singers in the region who play an active part in the conservation of Brittany's rich musical heritage. Many bands have been formed after meeting there, including Storvan, Denez Prigent, Yann-Fañch Kemener and Ar Re Yaouank.

The competition

The Kan ar Bobl's aim is to conserve and transmit musical patrimony throughout different areas of Brittany, but also to inspire new original forms. The heats take place in different areas of Brittany, and the participants must perform in front of judges. The musicians may compete in more than category, and may even perform in different locations if needs be. The chosen artists take part in the final, held in Pontivy where they must perform again.

Main categories

* Traditional song * Creation * Tales * Duets * Solo Instruments * Music groups * School groups {{DEFAULTSORT:Kan Ar Bobl Breton music Music festivals in France