June 27 to August 22, 2024 Montpeloux Volcano Festival in Saillant

Basaltic and volcanic festival

Every Thursday throughout the summer, a Livradois-Forez volcano becomes a concert hall. Under the stars, wrapped up in a blanket or in the arms of your loved one, you’ll be treated to an extraordinary concert. Under the stars and in the midst of its natural circus, the Montpeloux volcano welcomes you with a program rich in twists and turns. So that your evenings in Livradois-Forez are like no other.

The festival returns this year, on the same day, at the same time and in the same place, to offer you a program full of surprises!

Tickets open on Thursday, June 6, 2024.

Volcanic decor for a sparkling show in Montpeloux

First of all, seventy-metre-high basaltic organs dominate the illuminated waters. Eighteen million years of history stare back at you. At the bottom of the crater, the scene on the water seems almost as fragile as we are. The summer night is star-studded, however, and those few trailing clouds won’t change a thing. What’s more, there’s something unique about the atmosphere here. Notes come, words perhaps. Dancers appear in full light.

The Montpeloux site is a singularity in the Forézien landscape. Its sculptural character makes it an ideal performance venue. A basalt quarry until the 90s, the Montpeloux has been at the heart of a rehabilitation project ever since its industrial use ceased. The rehabilitated, revegetated quarry became an open-air stage in the heart of the Ance Valley. In 2006, a 200-seat theater was inaugurated, which has since hosted the Festival du Volcan du Montpeloux.

Festival du volcan du Montpeloux du 29 juin au 24 août 2023

Plugged into eclectic current

All year round, a team is busy concocting this eclectic program. The avowed aim? To discover the unknown and provoke reflection. All the while inspiring audiences to dream and travel. Journeys around the world, through time, guided by generous artists capable of transporting the imagination.

The Festival du Montpeloux doesn’t shy away from any horizon or genre. Music, of course, storytelling, which finds an unrivalled setting here, theater, dance… On the Montpeloux’s waterfront stage, everything comes together, especially talent. Modernity and tradition share the summer in perfect harmony. In a way, it’s “touching everything to touch everyone”.

Volcan de Montpeloux : in the heart of nature

Le Montpeloux is one of the rare examples of volcanic relief in the Monts du Forez, on the borders of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Long used as a promontory for a powerful fortified castle, the Montpeloux was gradually nibbled away by the work of a basalt quarry, which today allows us to penetrate the volcano’s belly.

The Ance Valley

In 2000, the former Communauté de Communes de la Vallée de l’Ance set about rehabilitating this “industrial wasteland“. Faced with the sculptural immensity of the volcano, basaltic cliffs and geological sections, the idea of a performance venue became obvious. The project fully embraces the site’s industrial heritage, while maintaining its open, grandiose character, which is now perfectly safe. This natural site also encourages the recolonization of vegetation around the parking lot and on the upper esplanade.