The world's great music festivals each have an identity hewn from their surroundings. Coachella has the California desert, Lollapalooza the Chicago skyline, Glastonbury the Somerset countryside. But the Montreux Jazz Festival, approaching its 60th edition this summer, may just have the strongest aesthetic appeal of all: It's set in a glorious belle epoque town on the edge of the vast Lake Geneva, fringed with soaring Alpine peaks. It's no wonder artists and cultural figures-including David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Tchaikovsky, Zelda Fitzgerald, Vladimir Nabokov, and Noël Coward-have all, at various times, chosen to live here.
The natural amphitheater and the town's international potpourri of attitudes, languages, and tastes make Montreux different. But above all, it's the festival's integrity and great music from an array of genres that make it so special. Its CEO since 1999, Mathieu Jaton, puts this idealistic aura down to the extraordinary passion of one man: founder Claude Nobs, the "nothing is impossible guy," as Jaton calls him, and a man who turns all notions of Swiss conservatism on their head.
Trained as a cook, Nobs joined the local tourist board in 1960, becoming its head within a few years, by which time he'd brought a little-known band called the Rolling Stones to perform at the town's Golden Rose TV symposium. (He was keen to lure the Beatles, too, but was overruled by people who may not have known as much about music as he did.)
Since 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival has been held every year on the edge of Lake Geneva, 60 miles outside of the city of Geneva, where The Woodward, Auberge Collection is located.
"He wanted to promote this quiet Swiss town around the world and contribute to culture," says Jaton, who worked closely with the founder from 1994 until Nobs's passing in 2013. "He wanted to create a mecca for music and musicians."
The first Montreux Jazz Festival took place in 1967 and featured saxophonist Charles Lloyd with pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette. At 1969's event, Nobs realized a dream by recording a hugely popular album: Les McCann and Eddie Harris's Swiss Movement, featuring the evergreen hit "Compared to What." Nobs also filmed the performances, many of which are now on YouTube: Ella Fitzgerald singing Burt Bacharach's "A House Is Not a Home," also from 1969, is among hundreds of musical and historic gems.
Jaton says that "Claude was all about connections" and knew he could only achieve his vision by winning over industry insiders. He went to New York to see Atlantic Records boss Nesuhi Ertegun without an appointment and charmed his way into a meeting. Such was their immediate rapport that soon two of Nobs's idols, Atlantic artists Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack, were winging their way to Montreux.
Prince performs at the 2013 festival. Photo by Marc Ducrest
If this was a demonstration of Nobs's musical range, things took a much noisier turn in the early 1970s when Led Zeppelin, Santana, and Pink Floyd took the festival stage. The appearance of a decidedly new type of fan-long hair, bell bottoms, and all-was a test for Montreux locals. "The more conservative people weren't so happy with people smoking joints in the gardens," Jaton says. "Claude wasn't popular with everyone just then."
Still, Montreux became a magnet for musicians as much as audiences. It has always been a place to hang, meet other bands, have jam sessions; it has never been just another stop on a world tour. The Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman says playing at Montreux alongside blues legends Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters was "the greatest moment of my career."
Sting performs at the 2023 festival. Photo by Lionel Flusin
This year’s 60th edition brings more of that musical camaraderie, with first-night headliner British soul and jazz singer Raye performing with an astonishing array of guests: soul legend Al Green, pop master Mark Ronson, and the golden-voiced Shirley Bassey, now in her 80s, among them.
"The first time Raye came, in 2024, we put her on with Janelle Monáe, and she did another crazy show last year," Jaton says. "For the 60th anniversary we've given her carte blanche, and she's decided to do a show that reflects the history of music at Montreux inspired by people like Ella and Nina [Simone]. It's a pure Montreux story and something that you can only see here."
Also this year, folk legend James Taylor and Irish soul singer Van Morrison are appearing on the same night. "This one is emotional for me," Jaton says of the two acts. Though they are scheduled to play separately with their bands on the last night, there is always the hope that they may be moved to join each other on stage. Crazier things have happened: In 1981, Nobs famously got Freddie Mercury and David Bowie to record a version of the latter's iconic song "Under Pressure" together at Montreux's Mountain Studios. "Nothing is impossible!" Jaton says. (To wit: Another fan-favorite Bowie collaboration, "This Is Not America," featuring the Pat Metheny Group, was also recorded there in 1984.)
Sting also makes a return this year, with his 12th appearance on the Montreux stage. He has long talked up the importance of Nobs's influence on the jamboree, calling the founder an "abiding spirit and presence" at the festival. "His warmth and inclusive nature of all kinds of music … was an important statement to make," Sting says. "Barriers are not helpful. I like festivals that open their doors to all kinds of musical interpretations."
Six-time Grammy winner, drummer, DJ, and filmmaker Ahmir Khalib Thompson, better known as Questlove, the leader of the Roots, is another headliner this year who became friends with Nobs after performing at the festival. "It's the original prestige festival," he says. "If they invite you to perform here it's your duty and an honor to come here. A lot of my inspirations, like Nina Simone and Miles Davis-the gigs they've done here I've studied over and over."
Sting performs at the 2024 festival. Photo by Emilien Itim
With his desire to make Montreux a cultural destination, Nobs also promoted the festival with beautiful branding. The names behind its posters are as godlike in the design world as those of the musicians in the sonic word-including Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and Julian Opie. "Artists are given full creative freedom," Jaton says of the festival's iconic posters. "They reflect the times and artistic trends in which they were created, showcasing the evolution of visual arts over the past 60 years, from photography and painting to purely graphic works."
Milton Glaser, 1977
Keith Haring, 1983
David Bowie, 1995
Marylou Faure, 2021
Kévin Germanier, 2026
For this year's edition, fashion designer Kévin Germanier, a 33-year-old Central Saint Martins graduate who has dressed Beyoncé, Björk, and Lady Gaga, took the creative reins of the consequential poster, producing an astonishing riot of rich, saturated color composed of 60,000 beads and sequins, all hand-woven on black velvet. "Music isn't just a saxophone or a guitar; it's a feeling," Germanier says. "I tried to capture that explosion, that emotion that makes your body sway and your heart stir."
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett perform at the 2015 festival. Photo by Marc Ducrest
So woven into the musical zeitgeist is Montreux that the festival has been immortalized in legendary music itself-although one of the most notorious incidents in the town's musical history happened just outside of it, at another Nobs-promoted concert. In December 1971, during a performance by Frank Zappa, an audience member fired a flare gun, burning down the festival's main venue, the Casino. The members of Deep Purple-another headliner at the 2026 festival-watched from a nearby hotel bar as Nobs rushed to help evacuate concertgoers. (There were no fatalities or major injuries.) The following year, the rock band released its famous anthem "Smoke on the Water," with the following lyrics inspired by the event:
Funky Claude was running in and out / He was pulling kids out the ground now
Deep Purple's long association with Montreux means its appearance at this year's festival will also be emotional for Jaton: "It's likely to be the last time we'll see them here," he says. Such personal testimonies reveal so much about the legacy of music and art renewed with each year's event. "You can't describe it, words don't do it justice," Quincy Jones once famously said of it. "You just have to come and experience it."
Grace Jones performs at the 2025 festival. Photo by Thea Moser
In its 60 years, the Montreux Jazz Festival has grown from staging just three artists in 1967- Charles Lloyd, Keith Jarrett, and Jack DeJohnette-to nearly 80, with about 250,000 attendees in recent years. This year, the festival takes place July 3-18. Headliners include Raye, Sting, John Legend, the Roots, Deep Purple, Van Morrison, and James Taylor. Performances are held at the Convention Centre, which houses two main stages: Auditorium Stravinski and Montreux Jazz Lab. There is also the smaller Montreux Jazz Café; a plethora of petite stages, such as the intimate Funky Claude's Bar; and the Ipanema Terrace, where world-famous DJs spin. Many performances are free.
To explore Montreux beyond the music scene, the Léman Express train network allows visitors to take in the spectacular UNESCO-listed terraced vineyards and local attractions without missing any gigs. Besides the awe-inspiring countryside, there are wonderful sites to explore, such as Chaplin's World, a brilliant interactive museum dedicated to the great film innovator on the grounds of his family house. There is also the atmospheric, medieval Chillon Castle and the recently opened Fort de Chillon, a World War II bunker set into the mountainside. One of the best local excursions is to take the funicular to the peak of Rochers-de-Naye, which towers 6,700 feet above Montreux. At the top, a cafe and observation deck offer views as far as Eiger mountain to the east. The train also stops at the little village of Caux, where Claude Nobs's chalet can be found.
