In the Church of the Gesù, where Jesuits once prayed, 12 uninterrupted hours of rock, electro, jazz, R&B, harp, post-punk and organ. They call it 12 hours of the Jesus.

At the Church of the Gesù, twelve hours of non-stop concerts, a unique event in Toulouse

The essentials 

Video of event at link below.

Twelve uninterrupted hours of live music in a church, mixing rock, jazz, harp, and electro… The "12 Hours of the Gesù" promises a unique experience on May 17 in Toulouse, hosted by twelve local organizations.

Rock, electro, jazz, R&B, harp, post-punk, organ… Twelve hours of non-stop contemporary music in a church is unprecedented in Toulouse. Twelve Toulouse organizations – concert and festival organizers, a performance hall, and a recording studio – have taken on the challenge of organizing a joint event for Museum Night, Saturday, May 17. The "12 Hours of the Gesù" will take place from noon to midnight, with one artist per hour and a highly eclectic program, in this magnificent religious building located near the Carmes.

Since its deconsecration in 2000, this 19th-century building has regularly hosted cultural events, notably with Toulouse Les Orgues, but these 12 Hours will be a first due to their ambition, audacity, and longevity. Listed as a historic monument, the Church of the Gesù offers an exceptional setting, with its 23-meter vault, neo-Gothic decor, stained-glass windows by Bernard Bénézet, and Cavaillé-Coll organ.

12 organizers, 12 artists, 12 hours

The organizers are Convivencia, Atom Festival, the Bel Air collective, FôM, Klakson, La Petite, La Vadrouille, Noiser, Nuances Records, Regarts, Le Taquin, and Toulouse Les Orgues. It's impossible not to mention them all, as their collaboration is exemplary and has led to a wonderful diversity of proposals, inspired by the 36-hour Festival at the Saint-Eustache Church in Paris.

"The idea came about during a Toulouse City of Music seminar at UNESCO," explains Yann Dabiz of the La Vadrouille association. "We wanted to brainstorm as a group of twelve. We're all small organizations with shared values. Everyone was excited. We divided into committees, each of which submitted two proposals. The selection criteria were a diversity of aesthetics, gender parity, and the absence of drums, to avoid "blasts" in the church."

The program, in no particular order: Ada (ambient pop), Suzanne Belaubre (song), Cocanha (Occitan percussion vocal duo), Lys Finke (organ), Heeka (solo rock), Mafalda High (power solo harp voice), Odestân Trio (sung poetry), RP3 (jazz), Giulio Tosti (sound experimentation), Trio FÔM (organ and cello), Saåad (ambient electronic), and Zelezna (ambient electro).

If the event is a success, it should be a permanent event.

Saturday, May 17th at the Gesù Church, from noon to midnight. 22 bis rue des Fleurs, Toulouse. Entrance via Place des Hauts-Murats. Tickets: €5, free for children under 12. Tickets available on site, subject to availability.

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