Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland – A truly iconic musical gathering

Switzerland, known for its idyllic landscapes, snow-capped mountains, icy lakes, and melting glaciers, also hosts one of the largest music festivals. Every summer, the Montreux Jazz Festival takes place along the shoreline of Lake Geneva. The festival lasts for two weeks and is the second-largest annual jazz festival in the world. It follows only Canada’s Montreal International Jazz Festival. Switzerland is famous for its cash, cows, cheese, chocolate, and clocks, along with mountains and meadows. This iconic music festival also enhances the country’s reputation for jazz and pop culture.

Something more about this iconic jazz festival is listed below

• History
• The evolution of genres at Montreux
• How to get to the festival
• Other events
• Beyond the music festival

History

Did you know that this Jazz festival has been happening for over 50 years? Of course, it has some pretty great history to know about.

Langel initially held the festival at the original Montreux Casino. Unfortunately, the casino burned down in December 1971 during Frank Zappa’s performance. Initially, the event happened only for three days featuring the exclusive jazz artists during that era. A few of the highlights of the era were Charles Lloyd, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette. The festival originally focused solely on jazz. In the 1970s, it expanded to include artists from nearly every music style. Today’s festival lasts about two weeks and attracts an audience of more than 200,000 people. They initially held the festival in various auditoriums in Montreux. It returned to the newly rebuilt Casino in 1975. The festival continued to grow, and in 1993, it moved to the larger Montreux Convention Centre.

Pretty cool huh?

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The evolution of genres at Montreux

The festival evolved in the 1980s: it grew dramatically and included an even wider variety of music styles. They kept jazz and Brazilian music important but also invited more rock and pop artists. While jazz and blues are the soul of this event, other music styles have also found their place. Artistic encounters and unique experiments drive this shift. The expansion that began in the 1980s has transformed Montreux from a jazz festival into a world music festival. 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.

That must be one wild night!

Other Events

Of course, there were competitions happening at the festival making it yet another great platform for budding artists. The Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation organizes three international competitions every year: Solo Piano, Guitar, and Voice. Each competition has its own jury composed of professionals and chaired by world-renowned musicians.

They make the festival more interesting by adding themed shows like Bahia and Blues. These shows take place on boats cruising the lake and on train cars traveling through the region. They also hold various workshops and competitions at nearby Montreux Palais and Le Petit Palais.

All of these events make The Montreux Jazz Festival one of the best and most significant festivals in Europe.

How to get to the festival

• You can easily board a train to enjoy the scenic beauty of Switzerland. The Montreux train station is just a few minutes’ walk from the festival site.
• You can hop on a bus and take Line 201 (Vevey-Villeneuve / Villeneuve-Vevey). This bus line serves as the shuttle for parking lots 1 to 8 and 11 to 21 during the festival.
• Alternatively, you can take a car or cab. There are free parking lots on the outskirts of Montreux, along with free shuttles to the festival provided by the VMCV bus service.

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The Montreux Jazz Festival 2025

The 59th Montreux Jazz Festival provided an opportunity for artists and audiences to come together. They united in the name of music. This music festival will happen during July 4–19, 2025 in Montreux, Switzerland.

Fortunately, most artists agreed to live-stream their performances. This allowed everyone to follow the event, despite the limited number of tickets. They streamed a total of 21 concerts. Awesome right?

The main attraction of this event was the new Scène du Lac. It captivated artists and the audience with its top-notch visual and audio quality. The Lake Stage showcased its natural charm beautifully.A rainy backdrop complemented Yseult’s poetry. Scarlet sunsets matched the warm melodies of Ibrahim Maalouf, Hermanos Gutiérrez, and Brandão Faber Hunger. An enchanting rainbow accompanied Oklou. Woodkid transformed the set into a magical 4D show, complete with a giant screen and deep bass sound. The main attraction was the new Scène du Lac. It captivated both artists and the audience with its top-notch visual and audio quality. The Lake Stage highlighted the beauty of its natural surroundings.

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Since 1967, over 1,500 artists have performed at the festival, with the most appearances by Herbie Hancock and B.B. King. The event’s legacy is unmatched, and many artists choose to record their Montreux shows for live albums. These editions attract more than 200,000 visitors over the two weeks of performances.

Switzerland is known for its great tourist destinations and amazing culture. It also boasts beautiful festivals and delicious food. All of these are what makes Switzerland the amazing place that it is. I’m sure The Montreux music festival made it to your bucket list because it sure did make it to mine. Don’t miss out on experiencing it as part of your Switzerland trip packages!