The BC Django Festival

The BC Django Festival

The BC Django Festival celebrates the enduring legacy of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, whose groundbreaking Quintette du Hot Club de France forever changed the course of acoustic jazz. Drawing on Romani musical traditions, American jazz, French musette, and European classical influences, they forged a sound that was at once elegant, adventurous, and unmistakably their own. Nearly a century later, their music continues to inspire musicians and audiences around the world.

For this special evening, two of Canada’s premier gypsy jazz ensembles—the Marc Atkinson Trio and Club Voltaire—come together to honour that tradition. Featuring award-winning, internationally acclaimed musicians whose careers have intertwined for decades in acclaimed groups including Caravan, The Bills, and Outlaw Social, the concert promises dazzling improvisation, masterful musicianship, and the joyous spontaneity that defines Hot Club jazz.

The evening will feature full sets by both groups, with special collaborative performances bringing the musicians together throughout the night.

THE MARC ATKINSON TRIO

JUNO nominee and multiple Western Canadian Music Award winner Marc Atkinson is widely regarded as one of Canada’s finest acoustic guitarists. A celebrated composer and co-founder of The Bills, Atkinson has spent more than two decades leading his internationally acclaimed trio, captivating audiences across North America and Europe with music that is equal parts breathtaking, inventive, and deeply musical. Blending the fire of Django Reinhardt with his own distinctive compositional voice, his playing is renowned for its virtuosity, lyricism, and unmistakable swing.

CLUB VOLTAIRE

Featuring Richard Moody, Paul Dowd, Adam Dobres, and Oliver Swain, Club Voltaire celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli with virtuosic musicianship, rich vocal harmonies, and joyful improvisation. Collectively, the quartet’s members have earned JUNO and Western Canadian Music Award recognition and have appeared on some of Canada’s most celebrated stages and at festivals throughout North America and Europe. Bound together by decades of friendship and collaboration, Club Voltaire captures the elegance, spontaneity, and irresistible swing at the heart of the Hot Club tradition.