MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
SWITZERLAND
WHERE LEGENDS ARE BORN
THE WORLD’S MOST EXCLUSIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL ON THE SHORES OF LAKE GENEVA
Offering great music in an exceptional setting in the Alps, the Montreux Jazz Festival is a unique event in the world of music. Created in 1967 by Claude Nobs, it takes place over two weeks every summer in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Offering small, intimate venues and a unique setting on the lakeshore, with a mountain and UNESCO vineyard backdrop, the Montreux Jazz Festival is the original prestige festival.
Whatever your taste in music is, it has something for you. From jazz to rock, pop, hip-hop, soul and blues…you can experience it all, alongside all the luxury and beauty of Switzerland.
With its ambitious programming choices, musical diversity and warm welcome, the Festival offers a privileged experience to musicians and the public.
In Montreux, the proximity between the greatest artists and their audiences encourages the emergence of rare moments. The event has become over the years an essential event, generating fantastic stories and legendary performances.
For over 50 years, Montreux Jazz Festival has hosted iconic performances by artists including Nina Simone, Miles Davies, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Lady Gaga and Radiohead. Deep Purple and Prince even helped to write the legend of the place in their songs, while David Bowie and Freddie Mercury came to live in the region and record albums.
The Festival is famous too for supporting future stars – artists such as Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar and Dua Lipa were showcased here before they made it big.
Since its creation, the Festival has been a forward-thinking organization that has carefully recorded all its concerts. With more than 11,000 hours of live music, this unique collection of audiovisual archives is now registered in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. According to Quincy Jones, it is "the most important testimony in the history of music covering jazz, blues and rock".
OUR STORY
For two weeks every summer, the Montreux Jazz Festival joins the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Created in 1967 by Claude Nobs, the Montreux Jazz Festival has become an essential event over the years, generating fantastic stories and legendary performances.
Nearly 250,000 spectators come to the festival every year, enjoying a breathtaking setting, concerts with renowned acoustics and many free stages.
“You can’t describe it, words don’t do it justice. You just have to come and experience it.” Quincy Jones
In its more than 50 years history, Montreux has hosted iconic performances by artists including Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Deep Purple and Prince even helped to write the legend of the place in their songs, while David Bowie and Freddie Mercury came to live in the region and record albums.
“Montreux Jazz is the original prestige festival. If they invite you here, it is your duty and an honor to come and perform.” Questlove
While jazz, soul and blues are at the roots of this event, other styles of music quickly found their place, anchored by artistic encounters and unique experiments. In recent years, Muse, Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Adele, Lady Gaga, Tyler The Creator, Lizzo, Rita Ora and many more played in Montreux and honored the legends who have played here before them.
“Montreux Jazz is for people who really love music. It starts with that, everything else is secondary. Which is rare nowadays.” Jack White
From the very beginning, the festival’s founder Claude Nobs has recorded all of the festival’s concerts using the latest technologies. Under the guidance of the Claude Nobs Foundation, this unique collection of audiovisual archives has been recognized by UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. Through a partnership with EPFL, the archives, including more than 11,000 hours of live music, have been entirely preserved and digitised since 2017.
“This archive is the most important testimonial to the history of music, covering jazz, blues and rock.” Quincy Jones
57 Montreux Jazz Festival from June 30 to July 15, 2023: A feeling of shared euphoria with sixteen days of intense communion between artists and audiences.
Artists came with the desire to surprise and entertain, with even the festival’s most grandiose venues feeling intimate – with crowd-surfing, brilliant moments of improvisation, spontaneous encores, emotional speeches by artists and audience sing-alongs happening around everyone corner.