MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL REVEALS PROGRAMME FOR 2023

30 JUNE - 15 JULY 2023

INCLUDING:

BOB DYLAN | SAM SMITH | LIL NAS X | JANELLE MONAE| NORAH JONES | LIONEL RICHIE | CHILLY GONZALES | CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS | MARK RONSON | MALUMA | SIMPLY RED | WET LEG | NILE RODGERS & CHIC | PAT METHENY | CAROLINE POLACHEK | MARCUS MILLER | LOYLE CARNER | JACOB COLLIER | IGGY POP | AVA MAX | FREYA RIDINGS | JACOB COLLIER | MAVIS STAPLES | IDLES
& MANY MORE

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Montreux Jazz Festival today unveils the programme for the 57th edition of the prestigious Swiss festival, which takes place this year from 30th June - 15th July 2023 on the Lake Geneva shoreline. Musicians across all genres and generations will perform at the festival’s two iconic venues, the Auditorium Stravinski and Montreux Jazz Lab - from the music industry’s most prominent names, pioneers of the sixties and seventies, monuments of blues and jazz, pop icons and legends in the making. Tickets are on sale from 6th April @ 11am: www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/programme

The 57th edition of Montreux Jazz Festival exemplifies what the festival is all about; curating an eclectic, free-flowing programme that invites artists to come and perform with full creative freedom, generating unforgettable moments and legendary stories that are immortalised in music culture. Across two weeks at Montreux, music lovers can enjoy a dizzying panorama of sound at its two venues, the Stravinski and the Montreux Jazz Lab, in what is truly the pinnacle for live music.

AUDITORIUM STRAVINSKI

In the Auditorium Stravinski, a prestigious line-up of different generations meets in a skilfully orchestrated balance. The programme spans from the late fifties to the present day, with a line-up that has won 85 Grammy Awards. A stunning retrospective of music history, from the 1950s voices of Buddy Guy and Mavis Staples to the rise of contemporary stars such as Sam Smith, Maluma, Janelle Monáe and Lil Nas X.

History is made each time Bob Dylan takes to the stage in Montreux. He returns after 10 years to present Rough and Rowdy Ways, the iconic songwriter’s latest album. Half acoustic folk, half electric blues, this release is considered by many to be one of his best, with his current tour garnering equally high praise.

Back on top with their latest album and global hit “Unholy”, Sam Smith will play for the first time at the Auditorium Stravinski, eight years after their concert at the Montreux Jazz Lab. Sam is a longstanding fan of Montreux and attends most years, commenting: “This festival reminds me why I love music so much. If you haven’t been to Montreux for the festival, please go. It will change your life.” From one icon to another, Lil Nas X is also set to perform. Since his 2019 viral hit “Old Town Road”, the US artist has continued to shatter genre norms, break countless records, and remain one of the most ambitious artists of the current era. Expect the unexpected from his performance in Montreux.

The richness of the Auditorium Stravinski programming also lies in the complementary nature of its offerings. Two giants of the piano will be brought together on the same evening for the very first time: Chilly Gonzales and Sofiane Pamart. Another pairing this time in the jazz world is Jon Batiste and Jacob Collier. Two ‘children’ of the festival, the former made his debut at Montreux Jazz Club’s small venue in 2013 while the latter played the first concert of his career at the festival in 2015, propelled on stage by Quincy Jones. This will also be Jon Batiste’s only European show this summer.

Several evenings explore a musical genre through the artistry of two different generations. On the soul-jazz side, the legendary Mavis Staples will celebrate her 84th birthday on the day of her concert with her friend Norah Jones, back in Montreux 13 years after her last visit. On the pop-funk side, producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers will celebrate the hits he created with CHIC, David Bowie and Pharrell Williams, performing alongside Janelle Monáe, who is preparing her musical comeback with a highly anticipated album. On the blues side, the two greatest representatives of the genre today, Buddy Guy and Joe Bonamassa, will display their virtuosity on the six-string.

With the arrival of Lionel Richie, Simply Red and Seal, the Auditorium Stravinski welcomes three decades of hit-makers at the crossroads of soul and pop. Lionel Richie started out with the Commodores in the mid-1970s before embarking on an iconic solo career in the eighties. The Mancunians of Simply Red have had dazzling success since their first album in 1985, while Seal conquered the world at the beginning of the nineties with his hits “Killer”, “Crazy” or “Kiss from a Rose”.

Elsewhere, the festival’s special relationship with South American music is represented in the 2023 programme by two different generations, Columbia’s newest superstar Maluma, and Gilberto Gil, the first Brazilian artist to have graced the Montreux stage in 1978. Guitar fans will be treated to Pat Metheny, the only artist to have won Grammy Awards in ten different categories. He will play on the same night as another jazz icon who started his career in the mid-1970s, Marcus Miller. In a dream line-up for every punk rock fan, the trailblazing Iggy Pop, who released a ferocious new album at the beginning of the year, will be preceded on stage by Generation Sex, a supergroup comprising the original members of Generation X and the Sex Pistols.