From Bob Dylan and Mark Ronson to precocious new talent, variety remained the spice of life at this blissful Lake Geneva party
The magic of the Montreux Jazz festival lies in its diversity – there’s jazz, of course, but there’s also pop, rap, blues and indie. Impromptu jam sessions jam sessions break out in tiny bars, and a large swathe of the programme remains free to the public, which makes it much easier to uncover the unknown.
This year’s line-up is testament to the wide-ranging appeal of the 56-year-old jamboree. Over two weeks, Bob Dylan brought his Rough and Rowdy Ways to the historic, 4,000 capacity Auditorium Stravinski, while other headliners included Simply Red, Seal and Sam Smith. Even much-hyped indie newcomers The Last Dinner Party made an appearance.
The closing weekend seamlessly fused together old and new. Friday night belonged to rising British talent Olivia Dean – her gorgeous, rich vocals washing over you in waves. A stripped-back cover of Ms Dynamite’s Dy-Na-Mi-Tee put an elegiac spin on the garage classic, while Ladies Room – from recent album Messy – brimmed with a level of confidence and charisma not often seen from a performer just starting out.
Elsewhere, soul trio Gabriels delivered a set filled with welcome pomp, lead vocalist Jacob Lusk – weeks after joining Sir Elton John on stage at Glastonbury – performing in a dramatic velvet cape whose folds seemed to mirror the sumptuous power of his voice.