Jean Guillermo has created an amazing multi-city festival in which Blues artists perform in various towns throughout the region of Mantes Le Jolie in France for 17 days. The festival includes 140 Blues events at 80 locations throughout 22 participating small and medium villages in Paris’ western suburbs. What is remarkable is that they take this festival to the people. The artists who play the festival also perform in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons. In its ninth year, the festival has presented over 350 bands with this unique experience. To educate the French audience, Blues sur Seine presents a Blues in the Schools program in advance of the annual event. In 2004, a team of fifteen teachers created a Teaching the Blues Guide, while in 2007 they are hosting a two-day “Teaching the Teachers” master class for Blues musicians and music teachers to develop classroom strategies. Jean Guillermo and his staff of professional and volunteers have immersed an entire region of France into the Blues culture.
