Montreux Jazz Festival unveils 2021 line-up including Arlo Parks and Rag’n’Bone Man

The Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) has unveiled the full line-up for its reduced-capacity event which will see up to 1,500 attendees each day.

The line-up for 2021 is set to include Arlo Parks and Rag’n’Bone Man, Woodkid and Ibrahim Maalouf.

The 55th edition of the legendary festival will return to Lake Geneva on 2-17 July 2021, with a new Covid-safe format that will include four stages – two paying and two free of charge.

Like most live events last year, the 2020 edition of the festival was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The new Scène du Lac stage, which is built 25m from the shore of the lake, will play host to an eclectic range of performers. The artists will play to a tiered terrace that can accommodate a seated audience of up to 500.

The other main stage, Petit Théâtre, will be dedicated to jazz and soul music. 

A small selection of concerts from the Scène du Lac stage will be livestreamed free of charge on the Qello Concerts by Stingray platform. This marks the festival’s continuing shift towards a hybrid model that combines live events with a digital presence.

This year’s festival poster was designed by French artist and illustrator Marylou Faure

“The soul of the MJF lies in reinventing its model over time while preserving the spirit so dear to our founder: music above all else, but also the warmth of the welcome and the art of sharing,” said Montreux Jazz Festival CEO Mathieu Jaton. “So, with this creative energy, the entire MJF team spent months coming up with ideas, shaping new projects and accelerating a transformation process that was already in the pipeline.”

Social distancing and mask wearing will be mandatory at the event, with contact tracing managed bu the Mindful app.

Tickets for the Montreux Jazz Festival 2021 go on sale at midday (CEST) on 8 June.