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B.B.-King Lane
“If you don’t understand me, that’s okay. I don’t speak in English, I speak from the heart!”
B.B. King
1995. For the second edition of the Cognac Blues Passions, the organizers of the event bet on a major blues artist, the famous B.B. King. The Festival is struggling to get off the ground and is counting on the master’s performance to reach new heights.
After validation by the bluesman, the news spread like wildfire. Thousands of people come to the venue and vibrate to the rhythm of the riffs of the interpreter of The Thrill is Gone, Lucille or I Need You So.
The concert is a success and the objective is reached, the Cognac Blues Passions takes off. After bluesman from Itta Bena, they are other great masters who parade such as Ray Charles, Joe Cocker or Massive Attack.
In 2009, B.B. King repeats and performs again on this stage that he helped to make radiate. Weakened, he nevertheless ensures the show and inflames the hearts of the spectators. After his performance, the mayor Michel Gourinchas went on stage and proclaimed him an honorary citizen of Cognac. He even promised him a street in his name, a strong symbol to thank the musician for his involvement in the Festival. The singer declares: “Don’t say goodbye to me, I’ll be back”. Scheduled for 2014, B.B. King was forced to cancel his appearance. And on May 14, 2015, he disappeared. One month later, the municipality inaugurated the “B.B.-King lane” in the very heart of the public garden of Cognac, where the Cognac Blues Passions is in full swing. A plaque is affixed to the ground mentioning the name of the musician, his dates of birth and death. The artist will never have had the opportunity to see his name enthroned in the city of Charente. But his memory remains imperishable for the fans of the bluesman.
B.B. King’s famous guitar, Lucille, the last of its kind, sold for $280,000 at auction in 2019.
Public Garden
Located in the heart of the city, the public garden of Cognac is one of the few classified English gardens open to the public.
Covering seven hectares, the public garden of Cognac has many remarkable buildings such as a gothic pavilion, an orangery, a bandstand and a grotto.
It is also in this garden that the famous Cognac Blues Passions, a blues music festival bringing together the great names of this genre since 1994, is held every year.
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Passionné par la culture pop depuis son enfance, ses références vont de Donald Duck à Batman en passant par Marty McFly. Fantripper dans l'âme, voyager sur les traces de Ghostbusters, James Bond ou des héros de romans comme Cotton Malone fait partie d'un séjour idéal et réussi !