For those who don’t know, I’m half-Swiss. I’ve lived in this beautiful country for 16 years, going through school like any other kid, until graduating school at 18. 10 of those years were spent in the French part, in the Swiss Riviera, home of the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, founded in 1967. Going as a kid and teenager back in the day was one of the highlights of the summer, as it spans over 2 weeks with a plethora of different stages and activities to do. 2023, however, is the first time I’ve been since 2014, so it was a real joy to come back and experience the festival once again. Here are some of my thoughts and highlights.
First of all, the focus for me was to experience the free venues and general atmosphere of the festival itself. If I’m being honest, the paid program was a bit of a disappointment – they could have added more contemporary jazz, soul and r&B music, but instead had either absolute legends such as Bob Dylan, Lionel Ritchie or Seal (for ridiculously expensive prices), or pop artists I don’t have too much of an interest in personally. There were a few gigs I did want to go to, but my focus really was to check out all the smaller stages to see what the festival has to offer. And it really didn’t disappoint! Here are some of the highlights!
Best stage
The Lakehouse (The Memphis / La Coupole)
By far the most fun I had was at a stage called The Lakehouse, which is located at La Terrasse du Petit Palais, a part of the Montreux Palace, a 5* hotel in the heart of the town. The facilities there are among the best I’ve ever been, but what was great about it is that the bottom floor contained a stage (The Memphis), with a great sound system and seats that allowed people to sit down and truly immerse themselves in some great jazz. And there was some great jazz! From the concerts that usually srart around 8pm local time to the jam sessions, that include an array of talented musicians improvising together and jamming properly, this to me was the heartbeat of the jazz. Just pure, incredible energy, with some incredible jazz being played.
La Coupole on the top floor, was where dj’s played their late night set, and I saw absolute legends there. The sound system was pretty decent there too, with a large, beautiful interior. It’s a rich and impressive place to DJ, and the majority of the sets there were some groovy, funky house and soul music, a perfect way to round off the night.
Best gigs
Loyle Carner – The only paid gig I went to at the Montreux Jazz Lab, the South London emcee really exceeded expectations with an engaging, heartfelt and incredibly dynamic live show, as he interacted with the crowd frequently, sharing his story and his heart, with a live band that brought the heat! With spoken word poems in between as well, it was an inspired performance, and one of the better hip-hop gigs I’ve been to this year.
Mansur Brown – South London guitarist lit up The Memphis stage with some incredible compositions and an energy, complemented by his talented band, perfectly capturing the aura and soul of his music. The whole performance was utterly hypnotic, with his electrifying guitar playing taking center stage.
Speakers Corner Quartet – More South London goodness from this incredible group. Having released their incredible Further Out Than The Edge album recently, I was so curious to hear them perform together, and it was mystifying, hpynotic and very psychedelic. They lost people in the crowd (for some strange reason), but this was one of the most entrancing and powerful performances of the festival to me. The featured artists weren’t there, but they managed to incorporate vocal samples effortlessly throughout.
Laura Misch – A stunning and hypnotic performance, as she sang and played saxophone effortlessly, and was complemented by Marysia Osu on harp, who added so much beauty to the overall performance. At one point I felt like I was floating away, that’s how powerful and utterly captivating her whole performance was.
DoomCannon – More South London goodness from one of the best keyboard players working today. Engaging often with the crowd and promoting self-love, his performance was filled with captivating and immersive moments, complemented by the incredible musicianship he has with the rest of his band. It was a fantastic performance and was also part of the jam sessions – another highlight for me.
Enny – South London emcee took on the free Lisztomania stage with an intimate yet powerful performance. She had the crowd engaged throughout her set and kept the energy on 100 as well. Rapped her songs effortlessly, the sound quality was great and the production was hitting. An all around great performance.
Bnnyhunna – The Ghanian, now Amsterdam-based artist lit up The Memphis stage with an intimate, soulful and engaging performance. He encouraged the crowd to sing and move, and everyone was loving it! One of the surprises of the jazz as I didn’t know much about the artist before the gig, and left a fan.
Best DJ’s
Moodyman – an absolute legend, I was psyched to hear him DJ, and was an early highlight of the festival to me. Played some crazy tracks and kept the energy on 100 throughout his entire set. Was in complete awe of the fact that I was in the presence of greatness, and he did not disappoint.
Gayance – The Haitian-Canadian artist and DJ brought the vibes with a soulful house set including some of of her own tracks (from her recently released Mascarade album). She did a bit of singing, kept the energy high and infectious throughout. One of the surprises of the jazz for me.
DVIZE, Rich Medina & GE-OLOGY – Representing Dante’s Hi-Fi, these legends killed it with their smooth and soulful house and jazz selections, with GE-OLOGY in particular ending the night with a bang. With rare and deep cuts, the sets were incredibly varied as well. Vinyl-only too.
Ruairi & Jan – These two up-and-coming DJ’s (and pals I used to go to school with a long time ago) lit up a popular area of the festival called the Bar Pub, with some incredible rare soul, jazz and house selections. Ruairi, originally from Scotland but living in Switzerland, and Jan, from The Netherlands, have both DJ’ed extensively on Swiss radio, including shows on the independent Loose Antena. While not officially part of any lineup (you wouldn’t have seen their names as part of the official program or anything), they really knocked it out of the park! Hope to see them take on a bigger stage in a few years!
Other highlights
While the sound quality wasn’t the best, the Ipanema stage had some great DJ’s such as Janeen, Shy One, DVS1 and Skee Mask perform. The stage was on the lake as well, so you get to experience some pretty lush views as the sun sets. It’s a shame that the Audemars Piguet Parallel performances were cancelled due to the weather – a pretty big storm hit the region one night. It’s a secret venue, somewhere separate from the festival ground, that holds a one-off evening with a few different performances. It would have been nice to experience that as well, but hey, there’s always next year! The Terrasse ibis MUSIC on the lake again had more pop-rock gigs, which was cool, while the general atmosphere and ambiance at the festival were pretty good for the most part!
My first experience at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 9 years was overwhelmingly positive. I did not expect to have this much fun, and witness such amazing live music, especially for free at iconic stages and spaces. It was a great experience and there’s no doubt that I’ll be back next year as well.
Thank you Montreux!
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