Today the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival announces the free programme for its 58th edition, which will take place on the shores of Lake Geneva from 5 – 20 July 2024.
With more than 500 activities on 15 stages, the free programme represents more than 80% of the Montreux Jazz Festival’s total offering. Largely dedicated to promoting emerging artists, it covers everything from live music to DJ sets, concert and film screenings, vinyl listening sessions, workshops, talks and more.
Almost a festival in itself, the Lake House will once again offer music lovers many experiences across its different rooms: The Memphis is a club dedicated to new trends in jazz and jam sessions; La Coupole, a nightclub playing the best in house, funk, disco and hip-hop; The Cinema, a screening room for films, concerts and documentaries; and The Library, a collection of vinyl records and books, presented by a different guest each day.
Across the many free stages, highlights include viral dance success story Kenya Grace, one of the world’s hottest indie bands Good Neighbours, Indian cinema superstar & R&B vocalist Sid Sriram, techno legend Marcel Dettman, Budapest jazz fusion trio Jazzbois, saxophonist Venna, New York guitarist Dargz, British soul singer Elmiene, South African house music DJ Black Coffee and many more.
Due to the work being carried out on the festival’s usual home at the Convention Centre, the 58th edition has been completely redesigned with many of the free stages relocated on an extended circuit along the stunning waterfront of Lake Geneva.
Daily workshops will include members of Deep Purple and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason sharing their memories of Montreux in the seventies, as well as jazz stars such as Lakecia Benjamin, Faraj Suleimanand Roni Kaspi. The 14th July will be focused on Serge Gainsbourg, with a workshop and four events dedicated to the iconic French artist.
The Memphis will give a striking overview of the burgeoning British jazz scene with new talents such as saxophonist and Yussef Dayes collaborator Venna, producer and guitarist DARGZ, and Scottish multi-instrumentalist corto.alto. A European focus will also include okvsho, Hungary’s Jazzbois and Spanish bassist Vincen Garcia.
Chicago house legend Ron Trent will be teaming up with Rich Medina, a renowned selector from the American East Coast, for the opening night of La Coupole. Techno stalwart Marcel Dettmann will be offering a 100% house set, an event that usually only happens a handful of times a year at Berghain’s Panorama Bar. He will be preceded by Ryan Hope from Gabriels, and the great Italian selector DJ Tennis.
Fans of dance music can also flock to Ipanema for sets from Manchester based DJ Anz, known for her punchy garage and jungle sets, and Job Jobse, a major player on the Dutch scene with his wide-ranging selections, as well as German bass DJ Darwin and dark disco from Curses among others.
The Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation is continuing its role as a talent scout by offering a springboard to musicians in the early stages of their careers, including French singer-bassist Amy Gadiaga, French-Moroccan trumpeter Daoud and Italian-German electro-jazz duo 505. Emile Londonien and Jowee Omicil return to the event to present a work based on Thelonious Monk.
Once again, the cinema offers rare and privileged access to The Montreux Jazz Festival’s vast audiovisual collection. Two themes run through this year. ‘Great Women’ will focus on iconic Montreux shows from female artists, taking in everyone from Nina Simone to Angèle, while ‘Southern Rhythms’ leans into the Festival’s ongoing explorations beyond Western music, with artists such as Shaktiand Fatoumata Diawara. In all, some fourty concerts will be screened.
The Nestlé Terrace will be alive with activities such as Zumba and Yoga classes and live cooking sessions by internationally renowned chefs. Over at the Casino, the number of pool parties has been increased to nine this year, while at El Mundo, festival-goers can enjoy Latin dance classes in the afternoon, followed by lively concerts and DJ sets in the evening.
THE 2024 FREE PROGRAMME IN FIGURES
- Over 500 free activities
- 150 concerts
- 260 DJ sets
- 160 other activities (workshops, screenings, dance classes, etc.)
- 15 venues offering free programming
- 66 food stalls and bars
- 1,000m of quays integrated into the 2024 project (twice as much as in 2023)
- 3,400m2 of terraces built on the lake (compared with 2,000m2 in 2023)
MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
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ABOUT MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
Montreux Jazz Festival is a renowned music festival founded by Claude Nobs and held annually in Montreux, Switzerland across two weeks in July. Now in its 58th year, the festival draws 250,000 music lovers from all across the world to the Lake Geneva shoreline. Montreux Jazz Festival celebrates the industry’s emerging and contemporary acts, whilst paying homage to music’s legendary acts. Originally a pure jazz festival since inception in 1967, Montreux began showcasing other styles of music throughout the decades and today presents artists from across every genre imaginable. Artists that have graced the stage of Montreux include Etta James, Quincy Jones, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Ms. Lauren Hill, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, James Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Leonard Cohen, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and many more.
