Montreux Jazz Festival 2019
Updated: May 30
Montreux Jazz Festival Behind the scenes
From the 28th June – 13th July 2019, another edition of the legendary music festival in the Swiss Riviera, Montreux took place!
Being a continuously evolving festival, this year we saw major changes which made this Edition extra spectacular!
Most people think the festival is about jazz. Yes, it started as a Jazz Festival back in 1967, but today it has little to do with Jazz, hosting the biggest names in music. The name “Montreux Jazz Festival” today is a brand, and artists perform all kinds of music styles!
Statues in front of the Fairmont Montreux Palace, in honor of the legends who once performed at the MJF: Ray Charles
Statues in front of the Fairmont Montreux Palace, in honor of the legends who once performed at the MJF: Carlos Santana Aretha Franklin, B.B. King
Statues in front of the Fairmont Montreux Palace, in honor of the legends who once performed at the MJF: Aretha Franklin
Statues in front of the Fairmont Montreux Palace, in honor of the legends who once performed at the MJF: B.B. King
Free festival ground and concerts at the Montreux Jazz Festival! Unlike, what people have heard about Switzerland being very expensive, you will be surprised that there is so much to do for free at the Montreux Jazz Festival including various stages giving you free concerts with known artists such as Klingande! Aside from free concerts, the whole festival ground is for free and has clubs at night which are also for free!
The newest technologies as well as newest creations in music are presented at this festival giving you an insight of the evolution in the music industry.
Most of all, a line-up of incredibly talented and legendary artists came to play at the two main paying concert halls, the Auditorium Stravinski and the “Lab” (Miles Davis Hall).
The highlights of 2019:
∞ Elton John Farewell Concert : The end of a legendary Era
∞ Ibis Music Terrasse : Hospitality meets Music
∞ EPFL technology : Future of Music
∞ Instant WTF : Sponsored by RedbullMusic Switzerland
∞ The incredibly legendary line-up! Auditorium Stravinski and the Lab (Miles Davis Hall)
Elton John Farewell Concert: The end of a legendary Era
One of the unique attributes of the Montreux Jazz Festival, is that the artists needs are extremely respected in order to deliver their desired performance! What the artist needs, they get! And Elton John needed a massive stage, much bigger than the Auditorium Stravinski, so the MJF team made this happen, and built a stadium out of a sports center!
What a show! With over 15’000 people attending the show, it was an event which will remain music history!
Elton John farewell concert
Ibis Music Terrasse: Hospitality meets Music
Great hospitality and music are two things which go together at the Montreux Jazz Festival!
2019 the hospitality group Accor created “Ibis Music” which is 100% dedicated to music!
Throughout the whole two weeks of the MJF19, there was a terrasse, called the IbisMusic Terrasse, where there was free live music with incredible musicians and amazing music until the morning hours every single day! Performances from known artists such as Klingande and Charlie Winston!
Charlie Winston concert
Legendary Line-up in the paying concert halls
Whats so special about the Auditorium Stravinski? With the Sydney Opera House, these two concert halls are the only two of its kind with an interior architecture creating an extremely unique acoustic, which makes it a true pleasure for any artist to perform at!
Some of the performers at the Auditorium Stravinski: Rag’n’ Bone Man, Janet Jackson, Sting, George Ezra, Ms Lauryn Hill, Lizzo. Some of the performers at the Lab, (Miles Davis Hall): Dermot Kennedy, Rita Ora, Monolink.
Concerts in the Auditorium Stravinski:
Tom Jones
Rag'n'Bone Man
George Ezra
Janet Jackson
Bon Iver
Lizzo
Concerts in the Lab (Miles Davis Hall):
Dermot Kennedy
Monolink
Dermot Kennedy
Rita Ora
EPFL technology – Future of Music
The Montreux Jazz Festival is also known for being up to date with the newest of technologies.
Not only is there a collaboration with the university in Lausanne EPFL, digitalizing the archives ( all concerts since 1967) but they also create the newest technologies regarding the evolution of the music industry.
They created a 3D virtual experience where one can experience being on stage next the musician as well as looking out at the audience. You could watch concerts, which were recorded in Montreux at the Auditorium Stravinski. For the future, the aim here is to offer people to watch a live-concert whilst wearing the 3D virtual glasses and experience being on stage with the artist!
Instant WTF sponsored by RedbullMusic Swiztzerland
Red Bull Music Switzerland sponsors certain projects and puts these forwards at certain events. Two DJ's from Berlin known as “Instant.WTF” came with their new DJ installation, one of the worlds largest sequencer, for a few days and created pure magic! The pictures speak for the creation alone and the sound is simply incredible!
A festival which has revolutionized the city of Montreux and made music history for over 50 years! Home to legends and the place which brings people together through one main connection: Love for music!
With the music industry evolving, the Montreux Jazz Festival is right there with it and we’re already excited to see what will happen at MJF2020!
We are generation change.
Enjoy! Yours truly,
© Isabel Buchbinder
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