“We all came out to Montreux/ On the Lake Geneva shoreline...
” So goes the opening lines of Deep Purple’s classic rock song, “Smoke on the Water”. Montreux Jazz Festival , the same event that inspired that immortal song, launches its 58th edition on Friday 5 July, with a full schedule of performances to take place over the next two weeks. Across the festival, ticket-holders will see live sets from artists such as Alice Cooper, Mahalia, PJ Harvey, The National, Dionne Warwick, Paolo Nutini, Jessie Ware, Justice, Diana Krall, Brittany Howard, Massive attack, Lenny Kravitz, Tems and RAYE.
Meanwhile rock legends Deep Purple will return on 8 July to play the brand new Lake Stage, built over Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). The Independent is once again the exclusive global news partner of the festival. Music fans interested in learning more about the historic festival can tune into They All Came Out to Montreux, a BMG Films and Beyond documentary from renowned British director Oliver Murray.
The three-part series tells the story of the “Rolls Royce of music festivals” and includes archive footage of some of its most memorable performances, from Nina Simone and Miles Davis to Prince and David Bowie. It explores how the young Nobs came to found what is now regarded as one of the most prestigious music events in the world, and details some of its most memorable moments, including the Montreux Casino fire of 1971 that inspired Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water”. “I’v.