Montreux Jazz Festival

Two years ago, my friend and I decided to see the beautiful country of Switzerland knowing little to nothing about what we were going to do there and what we were going to see. Luckily, we managed to talk to a local when we arrived to get some advice on where to go and what to see in the luxurious country. This local had many suggestions, all which seemed way out of our low student budget. One of her suggestions was to go to a jazz festival in Montreux that neither of us had ever heard about. She described it as a big street festival with lots of delicious food and jazz music in a small beautiful town on Lake Geneva, surrounded by the Swiss Alps. My friend and I thought this sounded great and took the overpriced train from Geneva to Montreux, not really knowing what to expect. When we arrived, we went straight to the festival, which had no entrance fee, so we could just walk in. The first thing I saw was a sign to the New Orleans jazz train. I thought to myself how bizarre this was—a small town in Switzerland with a New Orleans jazz train? Little did I know, Montreux Jazz Festival has many influences from New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and recruits many musicians from New Orleans. Being a huge fan of jazz, it is difficult to put in to words just how much I enjoyed this festival and this idyllic town. My friend and I spent hours walking around, swimming in the crystal blue lake, listening to beautiful jazz music. The entire experience felt like I was in a dream, I loved everything about it. Ever since that time two years ago, I have longed to return to the city. I raved about it to my mother and told her that she absolutely needed to see it for herself. She agreed and said that we could go there this summer after my program in Germany had ended. So, when the class ended, although it was sad to say goodbye to all the good friends I had made during my time in Germany, it meant that it was finally for me to return to the beautiful country of Switzerland.

I met my mother and brother in Zurich where we rented a car and drove to Montreux to attend the jazz festival and see some of my all-time favorite artists perform. Our accommodation in Montreux was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was a chalet high up in the mountains, with a prime view of the Swiss Alps. First up on the lineup for the festival was a concert in the Montreux Palace with the headliner being Rhye, a band from California that has an album that I have listened to maybe a thousand times. The next day we went to another concert that had a lineup that topped anything I had ever seen before; Sampha, Solange Knowles, and Erykah Badu. All three of these artists are people I have always dreamed of seeing live and I could not wait to finally have that chance. Their performances surpassed my expectations and I had the best time seeing them. Montreux Jazz Festival is a bucket-list type event that everyone must go to. I will definitely be returning in the hopefully near future.