Rhino Jazz

What Rhino Jazz does

Rhino Jazz (legal name: Festival International de Jazz) is a French non-profit, itinerant music festival founded in 1979 by Jean-Paul Chazalon and Maurice Merle, headquartered in Saint-Chamond, Loire, and now operating under second-generation artistic direction led by Ludovic Chazalon. The festival's core product is an annual three-week autumn edition of 40+ concerts spanning jazz, blues, soul, rock, world music, gospel, and New Orleans/fanfare genres, distributed across 27-30 partner municipalities in the Loire and Rhône departments and the Lyon metropolis, with concerts staged in theaters, churches, cultural institutions, and unconventional venues such as company sites and art galleries. Monetization is grounded in ticket sales (individual tickets €10-€39, Grand Pass at €110 for 10 concerts, Pass Rhino loyalty discount from 3 concerts), supplemented by corporate/institutional sponsorships and French state cultural-access schemes (Pass Culture, Pass Région, La Boge), alongside a €3-ticket school concert program co-developed with DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Inspection académique.

The operating model is a hybrid event-driven GTM. Distribution is multi-channel: online via Festik.net, in-person at the Saint-Chamond festival office, by phone, email and mail, through partner town halls, the Saint-Étienne Métropole tourist office, the FNAC network, and direct venue box offices. Outreach combines organic social (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Deezer playlists), a downloadable press dossier with a dedicated press contact, and an Espace Pro professional portal targeting partners and institutional stakeholders. The organization is sustained by a 5-person core professional team (artistic direction, administration, partnerships, communication, logistics, ticketing, catering) plus approximately 22 named volunteers, and operates under a board led by founder Jean-Paul Chazalon as president.

There is no proprietary technology platform underlying the festival; the technology stack consists of third-party ticketing (Festik.net), standard web/email/payment infrastructure, and social media. The festival's competitive positioning rests on its 47-year programming history, an artist alumni roster that includes Michel Petrucciani, Paolo Conte, Avishai Cohen, Ibrahim Maalouf and launches of Youn Sun Nah, Tigran Hamasyan, Sandra Nkaké, Anne Sila, and Fatoumata Diawara, and a tightly woven partner-city ecosystem that would be difficult for a new entrant to replicate.

Name

Rhino Jazz

Legal name

Festival International de Jazz

Website

https://rhinojazz.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rhino Jazz is a French non-profit annual itinerant music festival founded in 1979, programming 40+ concerts across 27-30 partner municipalities in the Loire and Rhône departments each autumn, serving a broad public audience, school children, and corporate/institutional sponsors with jazz, blues, soul, and world music.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festival

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Jazz festival
• Live music events
• Concert ticketing
• Music education
• Cultural partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-Chamond

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket sales (online, office, phone, mail, venue): The festival sells individual concert tickets and multi-concert passes (Grand Pass, Pass Rhino) through its own office, the Festik.net online platform, FNAC network, partner town halls, tourist office, and at venue box offices. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Educational / school concert program: Concerts open to the general public for school concerts (priced at 3 euros per ticket, with artistic action workshops in schools). Revenue is minimal; the program is primarily funded through institutional partnerships with DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Inspection académique.
3. Corporate / institutional partnerships: The festival recruits business and institutional partners who financially support the festival in exchange for visibility, network access, and association with a cultural event serving their territory. Revenue derived from sponsorship and partnership arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

RHINO Festival is an annual itinerant jazz and creative music festival founded in 1979, headquartered in Saint-Chamond, France. Each autumn, it programs more than 40 concerts of jazz, blues, soul, rock, world music, gospel, and New Orleans styles across approximately 30 partner municipalities in the Loire and Rhône departments over a roughly three-week period. The festival complements its main programming with a school artistic action program developed in partnership with DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and operates multi-channel ticketing through Festik.net, partner town halls, the FNAC network, and direct venue sales.

Product overview

RHINO Festival is a single, unified annual music festival product rather than a multi-module platform. It is an itinerant jazz and creative music festival based in Saint-Chamond, France, founded in 1979. The core offering consists of multi-day concert programming spanning jazz, blues, soul, rock, and world music genres, presented across approximately 30 partner municipalities. The festival operates supplementary services including an educational artistic program for schools, multi-channel ticketing with discount pass options (Grand Pass and Pass Rhino), and partnerships with regional cultural venues. The festival's 2026 edition (48th) features concerts across three thematic weeks including Jazzmasters, Voix-Mondes/Jazz/Swing/Africa, Soul & Gospel, Blues/Rock & Roots, and New Orleans & Fanfares categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RHINO Festival Annual itinerant jazz and creative music festival offering more than 40 concerts of jazz, blues, soul, rock, world music, gospel, and New Orleans styles across approximately 30 partner municipalities in the Loire and Rhône departments of France over a three-week autumn period. Targeted at the general music-loving public, schools, partner municipalities, and corporate sponsors.
• Actions Artistiques Scolaires Educational artistic program offering music workshops and concerts for primary school children (maternelle and élémentaire) in the Saint-Chamond and Rive-de-Gier constituencies, developed with DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the local Inspection académique. Concert tickets for school concerts are priced at €3; each year, every young Couramiaud under 18 is reported to attend a jazz concert.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ concerts per edition
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-AlpescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe DRAC (Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles) of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes partners with the festival to fund and support the annual school artistic action program targeting maternelles and élémentaires in Saint-Chamond and Rive-de-Gier constituencies. The DRAC co-develops the educational program alongside the Inspection académique.
• Inspection académique des-circulations de Saint-Chamond et Rive-de-GiercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Inspection académique co-develops the school's artistic action program with the festival, providing institutional access to school networks for workshops and concerts.
• Partner municipalities (communes partenaires)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEach year the festival partners with 27–30 communes across the Loire and Rhône departments (e.g., Saint-Chamond, Rive-de-Gier, Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Firminy, Andrézieux-Bouthéon, Oullins, La Ricamarie, etc.). Partner cities provide venues, promote the festival locally, and sell tickets through their town halls. The festival contributes to the cultural identity and visibility of each partner commune.
• Saint-Étienne Métropole (tourist office)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Saint-Étienne Métropole tourist office sells tickets for a selection of festival concerts (04 77 49 39 00).
• FNACminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFNAC retail network sells tickets for selected festival concerts via its phone service (0 892 68 36 22) and fnacspectacles.com.
• Pass CultureminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe festival is a partner of Pass Culture, enabling Pass Culture users to purchase tickets using their credits on the platform.
• Pass RégionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe festival accepts Pass'Région Jeune and Pass'Région Senior cards for ticket purchases at the festival office and at concert venues (subject to availability).
• Dispositif La BogeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe festival participates in the La Boge cultural scheme, an additional mechanism to widen accessibility to its concerts.
• Corporate and institutional partnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe festival recruits business partners (entreprises) and institutional supporters (soutiens institutionnels) who contribute to the festival's funding and operations. Partners benefit from associating their image with the festival, meeting other partner businesses in a convivial setting, discovering unusual concert venues, and supporting cultural projects for schools and emerging artists year-round. Partnership contact: Dominique Abadie ([email protected]).
• Opéra de Saint-ÉtiennecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe festival partners with the Opéra de Saint-Étienne as one of its premier concert venues, hosting major headliner performances (e.g., Monty Alexander trio, Amaro Freitas solo).
• Maison de la Culture Le Corbusier, FirminycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn iconic concert venue (designed by Le Corbusier) used for festival performances, notably Abraham Réunion and other school-related concerts.
• Le Radiant-Bellevue, Caluire-et-CuirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA major cultural venue partner for festival concerts, notably hosting Kyle Eastwood 5tet.
• Le Périscope, LyoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLyon-based cultural venue partner hosting festival events (Bonbon Flamme). Note: shows at Le Périscope are excluded from the Grand Pass.
• La Mouche, Saint-Genis-LavalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural venue partner hosting the Sandra Nkaké trio concert. Ticketing is managed directly through La Mouche's own website, not the festival's Festik platform.
• La Comète (Le Solar), Saint-ÉtiennecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA key Saint-Étienne cultural venue hosting festival concerts. Le Solar is a venue where annual membership (adhésion) is mandatory for attendance.
• Festik.netcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe primary online ticketing platform for the festival (billetterie.festik.net/rhinofestival/). Handles all online ticket sales including Grand Pass, individual tickets, and Pass Rhino.
• Various partner companies (e.g., Entreprise Ellipse, La Ricamarie)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSome concerts are held at company sites, notably the concert by 'Ceux qui marchent debout' at Établissements Ellipse (La Ricamarie), demonstrating the festival's tradition of in-situ concerts at workplaces.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• North Sea Jazz Festival: Massive indoor European jazz festival in Rotterdam, programming jazz, blues, soul, funk, and world music across many stages. Comparable in multi-genre programming and audience mix, but operating at substantially larger scale.
• Festival International de Jazz de Montréal: One of the world's largest jazz festivals, mixing indoor and outdoor stages across downtown Montréal with hundreds of concerts. Comparable genre and audience, but operates at vastly larger scale and as a major commercial event.
• Montreux Jazz Festival: Global benchmark jazz festival held annually on Lake Geneva, blending jazz with rock, soul, and world music. Comparable in multi-genre programming and international artist roster, but operates at much larger commercial scale and global audience reach.

Direct peers

• Jazz à Juan (Juan-les-Pins): Historic French Riviera jazz festival founded in 1960, hosting major international jazz artists each summer. Comparable as a long-established, ticketed French jazz festival with prestigious international programming.
• Nice Jazz Festival: Long-running French jazz festival with a multi-stage, multi-genre format featuring major international headliners. Comparable as a ticketed, annual, multi-venue jazz event, though larger in scale and more urban.
• Jazz in Marciac: Iconic annual French jazz festival in rural Gers, programming internationally renowned jazz artists over a multi-week summer residency — directly comparable as a non-commercial, multi-venue jazz festival with international headliner focus and an education/outreach component.
• Jazz à Vienne: Major French jazz festival held annually in Vienne, Isère, programming over 100 concerts across jazz, blues, and world music. Highly comparable in audience, multi-genre programming, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional footprint.

Emerging players

• Le Cri du Ciel: Lyon-based jazz promoter and concert organizer booking emerging and established jazz artists across local venues. Comparable as a Rhône-Alpes regional player supporting touring jazz programming, though focused on single-city venue operations rather than a festival format.

Regional players

• Festival Sons d'Automne: Autumn jazz festival in France with a multi-venue, regional programming model similar to Rhino Jazz's itinerant Loire/Rhône approach. Comparable as a smaller-scale French regional jazz festival focused on autumn programming and partner-city hosting.
• Sunside / Sunset (Sunslice): Paris-based jazz club and concert venue complex (Sunset/Sunside) running year-round jazz programming. Comparable as a French jazz operator booking international and emerging artists, though operating as a fixed-venue club rather than an itinerant festival.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rhino.jazz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rhinojazz-s-festival
• Instagraminstagram.com/rhino.festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rhino Jazz