European capital of music
Every year in July Montreux is host to the famous month-long Montreux Jazz Festival. This musical phenomenon has featured so far jazz and blues legends like Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Charlie Mingus and Dexter Gordon, as well as rock-pop icons such as Beck, David Bowie and Kid Rock.
The Montreux Jazz Festival, held on the eastern shore of beautiful Lake Geneva, is one of the most famous in the world. Since its inception in 1967, the programme has extended from just jazz to blues, rock and pop. The Montreux Jazz Café has a nightly programme of DJs and bands and the "Off" Festival, a forum for up-and-coming artists, provides hundreds of free, open-air concerts. Catch live music on the terrace, where the view of the Alps and Lake Geneva is hard to beat.
Beside the festival Montreux was also for a short period the home of Queen and it’s most famous member Freddie Mercury. The poplar pop-rock band bought in 1978 Mountain Studios, which was the home of Queen’s producer, David Richards, until 2002.
The city’s name is also mentioned in the title of a Led Zeppelin instrumental song, “Bonzo’s Montreux”, which was recorded at Mountain Studios. Montreux is also referred to in the lyrics of Deep Purple’s song “Smoke on the Water”, which recalls a Frank Zappa concert where a fan with a flare gun set the casino on fire.
