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Thousands flock to first Montreux Jazz Fest Miami

Thousands of concertgoers attended the inaugural Montreux Jazz Festival (MFJ) Miami, which featured a surprise appearance from actor Will Smith.

The US spin-off of the legendary Swiss festival premiered from 1-3 March at 1,500-cap waterfront venue The Hangar, with Smith joining event co-owner and ambassador Jon Batiste on stage for an impromptu rap performance on the second night.

Batiste headlined the first two days of the event, which also featured the likes of Daryl Hall, The Wailers, Cimafunk, Emily Estefan, Cory Henry, Mathis Picard, Daniela Mercury and Adrian Cota & The Winston House Band.

Topping off each night was the Legendary Montreux Jam Session, curated by Elmo Lovano.

“Our goal from the very beginning was to take a page out of Montreux Jazz Festival’s book”

“It is with immense gratitude that we joyfully close the first chapter of Montreux Jazz Festival Miami,” says a statement from organisers. “Our goal from the very beginning was to take a page out of Montreux Jazz Festival’s book and create a festival that did everything it could to show the musicians how much we love and respect them.

“Our friends in Switzerland had shown us over the years that if we were successful in doing that, the artists would feel at home and subsequently the talent would alchemise. If the magical musical moments of the first year are any indication, we are off to a good start.”

MJF’s flagship Swiss edition has unveiled a reimagined layout for its 58th edition, set for 5-20 July 2024, while its traditional main venue undergoes construction work. The event is reinventing itself in the town with an extended route along the quay, plus a brand-new 5,000-cap stage to be built on top of Lake Geneva itself.

The changes have been made due to construction work on the Montreux Music and Convention Centre Congress Centre (2m2c), which usually hosts the festival’s major shows, with work scheduled to continue until 2025. A stage was previously created on the lake in 2021.

MJF has previously launched international editions in Japan, China and Brazil, with further expansion planned in the UAE and Spain.

“It’s not a copy and paste format,” Jaton told IQ last year. “It’s bringing the DNA of Montreux to each of those countries, using the rules of each of these countries.”

PHOTO (L-R): Adam Fell (MJFM board), Jeremy Arditi (MJFM board), Jon Batiste (MJFM board and co-owner), Mathieu Jaton (CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival).

Image: @mannyofmiami

 


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Montreux Jazz Festival stalwart passes

The Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) team has paid tribute to European music industry stalwart Jaquelyne Ledent-Vilain following her death at 78.

German-born Ledent-Vilain, who died on 18 January, was an English teacher before meeting MJF’s legendary founder Claude Nobs in 1974.

She is credited with making the Swiss festival “a haven of peace” for artists, and was recruited by Nobs, then director of Warner Elektra Atlantic (WEA) Records, to work for the label.

“She developed a relationship of trust and complementary friendship with Claude,” reads a tribute shared by the event. “She was the rigorous one, he was the artist. By his side, she worked for over 30 years.”

Speaking to Le Temps in 2019, Ledent-Vilain explained: “One day, Claude Nobs’ assistant, whom I knew, called me to tell me that a guy who worked for the festival had just been hospitalised. She then asked me to come and help them out, and I accepted. That’s how I met Claude and also Nesuhi Ertegün, the big boss of WEA International. I really felt like I was discovering another world.

“The fiercest rockers nicknamed her ‘mom’ while Prince greeted her with a mischievous smile and a bow”

“I gave myself six months to see if I liked it. I started doing my homework: every weekend, I brought back stacks of vinyl, and I started reading Billboard magazine like the Bible.”

Ledent-Vilain spent more than two decades living in London during her WEA tenure, but returned to MJF each year to help out in an unofficial capacity.

“Every summer at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jaquelyne took care of the backstage area, where she reunited with longtime friends and looked forward to meeting the new generations,” adds the MJF team. “When introducing herself to artists, she would simply say, ‘I am the backstage girl.’

“Whether they were emerging talents or global stars, all quickly discovered that Jaquelyne was much more than that. During their stay, she was both a protector, a trustworthy ally, a strict coordinator, and a fantastic storyteller. The fiercest rockers nicknamed her ‘mom’ while Prince greeted her with a mischievous smile and a bow. She could tell you many stories about AC/DC, Mariah Carey, or Nina Simone.

“After each concert, Jaquelyne would put down her notebook and gather everyone backstage to applaud the artists when they got out of stage. A gesture that surprised and touched the artists, accustomed to being applauded on stage, rarely backstage. We invite everyone – family, former colleagues, staff, managers, and artists – to come together to applaud, in turn, this great lady who ‘simply loved people’.”

 


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US fest lineups: Gov Ball, New Orleans, MJF Miami

It has been a busy week for festival announcements in the United States, with a host of events joining Coachella in revealing their 2024 lineups.

Coachella, which takes place from 12-14 and 19-21 April at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, unveiled Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat and the reunited No Doubt as this year’s headliners.

Elsewhere, New York’s Governors Ball is set for Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens during New York’s Music Month on 7-9 June, when it will be headlined by SZA, Post Malone, and The Killers. Also confirmed are 21 Savage, Dominic Fike, Carly Rae Jepsen, Reneé Rapp, Labrinth, Sabrina Carpenter and Don Toliver, alongside an expanded presence of Latin music with artists such as Peso Pluma, Rauw Alejandro and Farruko.

Gov Ball will also welcome festival debut performances from Victoria Monét, Sexyy Red, TV Girl, Goth Babe, Alex G, Jessie Murph, Teezo Touchdown, Tyla and Kevin Abstract, among others.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is adding an extra day to expand to eight days in 2024, creating two equal four-day weekends from 25-28 April and 2-5 May. Held at the historic Fair Grounds Race Course, it will be topped by the Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Chris Stapleton, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Killers, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Hozier and Jon Batiste.

Other acts include Queen Latifah, Vampire Weekend, Greta Van Fleet, Heart, Widespread Panic, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Bonnie Raitt, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Beach Boys and Joe Bonamassa.

“Miami naturally lends itself to the musical diversity that Montreux has become synonymous with”

Elsewhere, the inaugural Montreux Jazz Festival Miami, which premieres on 1-3 March, at The Hangar in Coconut Grove, Florida, has announced a fresh batch of artists.

The maiden three-day event will feature headline performances from event co-owner and ambassador Jon Batiste, plus Daniela Mercury, Daryl Hall and latest addition Seu Jeorge. Also added to the bill are Israel Houghton, Cécile McLorin Salvant, The Wailers, Rogét Chahayed and Cimafunk.

In an effort to recreate the “singular intimacy” of Montreux, Switzerland, the Miami festival will take place in The Hangar, a 1,500-cap waterfront venue that was once a World War I naval air station. The festival programming will include music masterclasses and the Legendary Montreux Jam Sessions.

“As a city of cultural connection, Miami naturally lends itself to the musical diversity that Montreux has become synonymous with,” says Mathieu Jaton, CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival. “We believe that the waterfront location and the artists performing in this first edition are a true reflection of the original Montreux Jazz Festival experience.”

Meanwhile, the 13th edition of Hangout Music Festival is scheduled for Gulf Shores, Alabama from 17-19 May. Its eclectic lineup is headed by Zach Bryan, Lana Del Rey and ODESZA, with other acts to include The Chainsmokers, Cage The Elephant, Dominic Fike, Reneé Rapp, Jessie Murph, Subtronics, Dom Dolla, A Day To Remember, Doechii, Nelly, Koe Wetzel, Alison Wonderland, Megan Moroney, Sexyy Red, NLE Choppa and All Time Low.

 


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Montreux Jazz Festival reinvents format for 2024

Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) has unveiled a reimagined layout for its 58th edition while its traditional main venue undergoes construction work.

Set to be held from 5-20 July 2024, the storied Swiss event is reinventing itself in the town with an extended route along the quay, plus a brand-new 5,000-cap stage to be built on top of Lake Geneva itself.

It will also see a return to the Casino, where the festival started in 1967, along with a large number of free stages as it continues to accommodate its usual 250,000 capacity across the duration of the event. The Casino Stage will have a capacity of 1,300 and a half-seated, half-standing configuration.

The changes have been made due to construction work on the Montreux Music and Convention Centre Congress Centre (2m2c), which usually hosts the festival’s major shows, with work scheduled to continue until 2025. A stage was previously created on the lake in 2021.

“It was very clear when we came back in ’22 that we were going to bring in a lot of changes to transform the festival and take it into the future”

“It is never business as usual at Montreux,” MJF CEO Mathieu Jaton told IQ earlier this year. “It was very clear when we came back in ’22 that we were going to bring in a lot of changes to transform the festival and take it into the future. And ’24 will be another challenge because we have to move the festival from the Congress Centre as [redevelopment] work will be starting just after the festival this summer.”

The reigning top festival (Ligger’s Favourite Festival) at ILMC’s Arthur Awards, the Swiss festival pulled in around 250,000 fans to the shores of Lake Geneva this year for its combination of free and ticketed concerts.

Artists included Bob Dylan, Lionel Richie, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Simply Red, Iggy Pop, Generation Sex, Norah Jones, Seal, Joe Bonamassa, Nile Rodgers & Chic and Mark Ronson.

MJF was the subject of the 2023 documentary mini-series, They All Came Out To Montreux, which premiered in the UK earlier this month on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. The three-part doc details the history of the event and its legendary founder Claude Nobs, who died in January 2013 following a skiing accident. Jaton speaks about Nobs’ enduring legacy here.

 


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Montreux Jazz Festival ’23 pulls in 250k fans

Ticket sales for this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) were among the best in history according to organisers, with venue capacity averaging close to 90% across the event.

Held from 30 June to 15 July, the Swiss festival pulled in around 250,000 fans to the shores of Lake Geneva for its combination of free and ticketed concerts.

Artists included Bob Dylan, Lionel Richie, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Simply Red, Iggy Pop, Generation Sex, Norah Jones, Seal and Joe Bonamassa, with co-headliners Nile Rodgers & Chic and Mark Ronson bringing proceedings to a close on Saturday at the 4,000-cap Auditorium Stravinski and 2,000-cap Montreux Jazz Lab, respectively.

“I’m particularly happy with this year’s festival,”festival director Mathieu Jaton tells Swiss Info, noting the spirit of sharing between artists and audiences gave the event a “feeling of collective euphoria”. The event enjoyed good weather apart from two “complicated” days of summer storms, he adds.

MJF reports that attendance figures were on a par with last year, meaning its ticket sale targets were met despite its budget of 28 million Swiss francs (€29m) being one of the highest in its 57-year history. Tickets for most shows were priced between 88 and 145fr, while admission for Bob Dylan’s sold-out show was 365fr.

Its free stages, meanwhile, offered festival-goers a selection of five or six successive performances each evening.

“We have to find a new and brilliant ID for ’24 and ’25, so that’s going to be a major challenge”

Due to major renovation work, 2m2c (Montreux Music and Convention Centre Congress Centre) will be unavailable for the next two years of the event, with a new 5,000-cap stage set to be introduced on the lake. The festival’s perimeter will be moved between the Fairmont le Montreux Palace and the Place du Marché, with the exact format to be announced by the end of the year.

“It is never business as usual at Montreux,” Jaton recently told IQ. “It was very clear when we came back in ’22 that we were going to bring in a lot of changes to transform the festival and take it into the future. And ’24 will be another challenge because we have to move the festival from the Congress Centre as [redevelopment] work will be starting just after the festival this summer.

“We have to find a new and brilliant ID for ’24 and ’25, so that’s going to be a major challenge. And then June ’26 is the 60th anniversary, so we have some nice years in front of us.”

A series of spin-off events will take place prior to MJF’s return from 5-20 July 2024. They include the second edition of Montreux Jazz Festival China (27 September-2 October 2023), the fourth edition of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation Autumn Festival (4-7 October) and the third edition of the Rio Montreux Jazz Festival (12-14 October).

Plus, the second MJF Spotlight Sessions in Villars is set for February-March 2024, while the first edition of the three-day MJF Miami in Coconut Grove – which will comprise international programming mixed with well-known local artists – is planned for early March 2024.

 


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‘It’s never business as usual at Montreux’

Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) chief Mathieu Jaton has discussed the next stage of the event’s evolution as it prepares to break from the norm in 2024.

The reigning top festival (Ligger’s Favourite Festival) at ILMC’s Arthur Awards, MJF’s 2023 edition launches today with sets by Simply Red and Tom Odell at the 4,000-cap Auditorium Stravinski and Jimi Jules and Rufus Du Sol in the 2,000-cap Montreux Jazz Lab.

The 57th festival will follow the same format as last year’s post Covid return, maintaining the Lake House space that was introduced in 2022 to showcase emerging jazz talent. But changes are already afoot for 2024 as MJF’s 2m2c (Montreux Music and Convention Centre Congress Centre) venue will be out of commission due to redevelopment work. As a result, plans are afoot for a new 5,000-cap stage on the lake.

“It is never business as usual at Montreux,” laughs MJF CEO Jaton. “It was very clear when we came back in ’22 that we were going to bring in a lot of changes to transform the festival and take it into the future. And ’24 will be another challenge because we have to move the festival from the Congress Centre as [redevelopment] work will be starting just after the festival this summer.

“We have to find a new and brilliant ID for ’24 and ’25, so that’s going to be a major challenge. And then June ’26 is the 60th anniversary, so we have some nice years in front of us.”

“The perception of the Montreux brand is getting greater and greater”

Other performers at the Swiss festival, which runs until 15 July on the shores of Lake Geneva, will include Bob Dylan, Lionel Richie, Lil Nas X, Iggy Pop, Norah Jones, Sam Smith, Seal and Nile Rodgers.

“We’ve been elected as the best European festival this year for the second time and the perception of the Montreux brand is getting greater and greater,” Jaton tells IQ. “The format of Montreux is different from other open-air festivals, for sure, and we have a mix of programming that stays close to our DNA. When you put it all together at the end it is quite successful. Now, we’re just hoping for good weather!”

Jaton says ticket sales have moved at a faster pace than last year, when the festival attracted 250,000 people (approximately 100,000 for paid concerts and 150,000 for its 450 free events).

More sets will be livestreamed than ever before, with over 40 performances from the Auditorium Stravinski and Jazz Lab to be available to watch free of charge on the MJF website and YouTube channel as part of the festival and the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation’s mission to make music accessible to all.

Jaton also gave an update on efforts to strengthen the Montreux Jazz Festival brand worldwide, with spin-offs in Miami, Abu Dhabi and Ibiza all in the offing.

“Fingers crossed… there could be six Montreux Jazz Festivals internationally in 2024”

“We have a complete ecosystem of the festival, which is of course the festival itself in Montreux, but also the Montreux Jazz Artist Foundation,” he explains. “We also have Multimedia Ventures and Montreux Jazz International, which is developing MJF Cafes and the festival around the world.

“We have three international festivals historically, in Tokyo, China and Rio. China and Rio are taking place in October. And we’re planning to open Montreux Jazz Festival in Miami in March ’24; Montreuz Jazz Festival in Abu Dhabi in March ’24 and Montreux Jazz Festival in Ibiza in autumn ’24.

“Fingers crossed, but if it works there could be six Montreux Jazz Festivals internationally in ’24. And it’s not a copy and paste format, it’s bringing the DNA of Montreux to each of those countries, using the rules of each of these countries.”

MJF was the subject of the recent documentary mini-series, They All Came Out To Montreux, which premiered in the UK earlier this month on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. The three-part doc details the history of the event and its legendary founder Claude Nobs, who died in January 2013 following a skiing accident. Jaton speaks about Nobs’ enduring legacy here.

 


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Montreux Jazz Festival boss on Claude Nobs’ legacy

Montreux Jazz Festival CEO Mathieu Jaton has spoken to IQ about the legacy of the event’s celebrated founder Claude Nobs, 10 years on from his passing.

The 57th festival will be held from 30 June to 15 July, with headliners including Bob Dylan, Lionel Richie, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Iggy Pop, Norah Jones, Seal, Joe Bonamassa and Nile Rodgers.

Jaton says ticket sales are pacing ahead of last year’s event, which attracted an estimated 250,000 fans to become MJF’s most-well attended edition yet.

“We’re very confident and very proud of the lineup, and sales are going great,” he tells IQ. “We had record sales for last year and tickets are moving faster than last year, which is a very good sign. A lot of the concerts are already sold out, which is cool, so I’m a happy man.”

Montreux Jazz Festival won the top festival award (Ligger’s Favourite Festival) at the 2023 Arthur Awards earlier this year, and the Swiss institution is the subject of a new documentary mini-series, They All Came Out To Montreux. The three-part presentation, which premieres in the UK tonight (Friday 16 June) at 10.15pm BST on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer, details the history of the event and Nobs, who died in January 2013 following a skiing accident.

“You see the passion, love and authenticity of Claude’s relationships with artists very clearly”

“This year is the 10th anniversary of Claude passing, so it is a very good timing that this documentary will be released finally internationally on the BBC,” says Jaton.

They All Came Out To Montreux features more than 40 testimonies, 30 performances and a variety of previously unseen images, is directed by British filmmaker Oliver Murray, executive produced by Quincy Jones and produced by BMG and Beyond TNC. MJF announced a multi-faceted global partnership with BMG in 2021.

The series has been made in association with MJF’s media company Montreux Media Ventures (MMV), which was launched in 2019 to develop year-round content and events for corporate clients, labels and brands.

“The most emotional thing for me is that you see the passion, love and authenticity of Claude’s relationships with artists very clearly in the documentary,” says Jaton. “That’s what makes Montreux completely different because Claude was not a businessman; he was not a regular promoter; he was an artist lover on a human level.

“The most beautiful heritage Claude gave us except for the festival, the brand and all the things he created, of course, is the love of everybody around him. When he passed away 10 years ago, the first call I got was from Quincy [Jones] and he said, ‘Claude was my brother, Claude was one of the people on earth that I loved so much. Now, we have to continue his patrimony for the future and I will be with you whenever you want.’

“Montreux is always trying to keep to that spirit of Claude, which is the heart before the business”

“Most of those artists could have said, ‘Okay, Claude passed away and that’s sad, and now I’m doing something else.’ But no, the loyalty of those people is still there and that’s amazing, and that’s exactly what this documentary shows – all those relationships, which are key in the DNA of Montreux, are real and authentic.”

Jaton, who began working for the festival in 1999, discloses a conversation he had with his mentor shortly before Nobs’ death at the age of 76.

“Two months before Claude passed away, he told me something very important,” remembers Jaton. “It’s bizarre when you think back because he passed away by accident, but he said to me, ‘You know why I chose you? I know that you understand the DNA and spirit of the festival, and you will transform it into the future.’ And that’s exactly what we’re doing – not looking to the past, but only looking to the future – transforming the festival every year, but keeping that DNA and the legacy of Claude.

“The legacy of Claude is not only the big names, it’s really a mindset: a mindset of hospitality; a mindset of passion, of love. We know the music business now is just that – a business – but Montreux is always trying to keep to that spirit of Claude, which is the heart before the business.”

 


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Montreux Jazz Fest chief maps out expansion plans

Montreux Jazz Festival CEO Mathieu Jaton has told IQ of his global ambitions for the brand following the Swiss institution’s most-well attended edition yet.

Held from 1-16 July, the festival’s 56th edition attracted an estimated 250,000 fans for a bill comprising over 450 free events, along with 70 paying concerts by headliners including Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Bjork, John Legend, Maneskin, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Van Morrison, Stormzy and Diana Ross.

“It was totally amazing, what a comeback! Everything was perfect from beginning to end,” says Jaton. “The weather was exceptional, tickets sales were better than ever and the number of people coming onsite for all the free activities was amazing.

“We had a lot of concerns before the festival about having to cancel due to Covid, but nothing happened. When you have 550 different shows with 3,000 musicians and everybody is on stage, we can call that a miracle.”

A number of artists deviated from their usual setlists to perform special shows for Montreux. Stormzy delivered a one-off anthological gospel-rap performance “because it’s the Montreux Jazz Festival”. Elsewhere, The Smile played new six-minute song Bending Hectic, composed at the festival earlier that day, which continued the tradition of tracks being created in Montreux, from Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water to Prince’s Lavaux.

“It was very clear that 2022 should not be a copy and paste of what we were doing in 2019”

“It’s very interesting for me that after 56 years, the DNA and tradition of Montreux being a bubble of creativity – a place where artists can create and do something special – [is still intact],” says Jaton. “These moments are key, because they are writing the next pages of the history of Montreux.”

The festival – founded in 1967 by the legendary Claude Nobs – entered into a partnership with TikTok on new music initiative MJF Spotlight, which was launched in 2021 to support emerging artists and new music with original content creation and live performances.

“That partnership is very important strategically,” notes Jaton. “We’ve made a lot of effort with the creation of our media company Montreux Media Ventures to regenerate the audience, and that’s what we did. We had brand new artists playing on the free stages and attracting a new audience, and that’s an investment in the future.

“I’m very happy to say that 60% of [festival attendees] are loyal visitors who have been coming for a lot of years, but 40% are brand new visitors and it is very important to have both.”

MJF’s 2020 edition was replaced by a 16-day YouTube event, Summer of Music, while last year’s MJF went ahead in a reimagined, Covid-secure format, with maximum of 600 people able to watch performances on the main stage from seats on the Lake Geneva shoreline. Continuing the hybrid physical/digital format debuted in 2021, 30 shows from this year’s programme were also livestreamed.

This year’s revamped event also integrated features such as the new Lake House venue, which combined cultural and artistic experiences in eight rooms across three floors in the Petit Palais.

“For me, it was very clear that 2022 should not be a copy and paste of what we were doing in 2019,” explains Jaton. “We took all the knowledge we accumulated from the last two years and 2022 was the closing of the circle of everything that we’ve created. So 2023 will definitely be a continuation of what we put in place in 2022, but there will be more innovation to come.”

“We are full of ideas to extend the Montreux brand all around the world”

Jaton also opens up on plans to strengthen Montreux Jazz Festival as an all-year-round brand, and teases the possibility of a winter spin-off.

“We will push the button a little bit further, continuing the brand recognition of Montreux 365 days a year with Autumn of Music [festival] in the autumn, with maybe a festival in winter next February, and then the Montreux Jazz Festival in the summer, of course. We are full of ideas to extend the Montreux brand all around the world.”

International festivals will also be held under the MJF umbrella in China, Tokyo and Brazil in the coming months.

“We’re very excited,” adds Jaton. “The expansion of the Montreux brand worldwide is not something new because we had the Montreux Jazz Festival in Atlanta for 15 years,  in Detroit for 20 years, Tokyo for 10 years, Singapore, Monaco, Sao Paulo… We also had the Montreux Jazz Cafe in Harrods for four years in London, and  we also have a cafe that will be in Singapore.

“China, of course, is a brand new market for music, which is very interesting for us. So the goal for us is to have brand recognition worldwide.”


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Johnny Depp to perform with Jeff Beck at Montreux

Montreux Jazz Festival has announced that Johnny Depp will join Jeff Beck on stage at the 56th edition of the Swiss music festival.

The event runs from 1-16 July, with Beck’s performance already confirmed for Auditorium Stravinski stage on Friday 15 July.

Depp has joined Beck for several performances on his latest UK tour, amid the culmination of the former’s well publicised defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp and Beck have released their first single as a duo, Isolation ahead of an upcoming album they have been working on together, which is due for release this summer.

Depp previously performed at Montreux in 2018 as part of the Hollywood Vampires supergroup he formed alongside Alice Cooper and Joe Perry.

Other acts billed for this year’s event include Diana Ross, Stormzy, Björk, Sam Ryder, Nick Cave and The Smile.

 


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Montreux Jazz Fest reveals NFT artwork collection

Montreux Jazz Festival’s media subsidiary has revealed details of its first NFT artwork collection.

Montreux Media Ventures has partnered with green Web3 company OneOf on the collection, which will feature the works of Montreux Jazz Festival alumni artists, who have designed previous versions of the festival poster.

The NFT collections include London-based designer Camille Walala and French artist Greg Guillemin. Versions of each artist’s artwork will be made available for NFT purchase from 29 April via OneOf’s platform, including a free version of Camille Walala’s 2022 poster design, with unlimited editions claimable before this year’s festival closes on 16 July. The design for Walala’s poster was unveiled last year to mark the 56th edition of the event.

“NFTs will offer us the opportunity to support and collaborate more closely with artists in a more sustainable way”

“Innovation has always been at the heart of the Montreux Jazz Festival,” says Nick Bonard, CEO of Montreux Media Ventures. “We are very excited that this new partnership with OneOf will bring Web3 technology to the heart of the festival, as NFTs will offer us the opportunity to support and collaborate more closely with artists in a more sustainable way.”

Montreux Jazz Festival returns to the Lake Geneva shoreline this summer from 1-16 July. For its 50th anniversary in 2016, Guillemin was invited by the festival to create 60 pop-art interpretive portraits of the musicians who played that year. This year, he has reprised that style for the NFT artwork collection, presenting five portraits of artists from this year’s line-up including Diana Ross, John Legend, Arlo Parks, Ashnikko and Woodkid.

Each of Guillemin’s five NFTs are priced at $20 and will be limited to 500 editions.

Montreux Media Ventures has partnered with OneOf to deliver the environmentally sustainable NFT art collection for fans. Minted on the Tezos blockchain, a Montreux Jazz Festival NFT created by the OneOf’s platform is said to use two million times less energy than other proof-of-work networks. OneOf has recently partnered with the Grammy Awards, iHeart Media, and Warner Music Group.

“The Montreux Jazz Festival has a special place in my heart as my all-time favourite live music experience,” says Adam Fell, co-founder of Oneof and president of Quincy Jones Productions, “We are honoured to be their partner in reaching even more music fans bringing cutting edge web3 technology to this iconic festival, sharing the beautiful festival artwork that Camille and Greg created for this season as NFTs for the first time.”

Montreux Media Ventures aims to create a long-term, sustainable model around NFTs. Starting with the event’s posters and artwork, the project will then move on to include experiential packages and eventually a financing tool for young emerging artists.

 


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