The 58th Montreux Jazz Festival returned to the sparkling shores of Switzerland’s Lake Geneva from 5 to 20 July. Since its beginnings in 1967, the festival has become a must-play destination for the world’s most revered musicians, drawing legends of soul, jazz, and blues along with rock stars, rappers, and emerging artists of every genre.
For 38 years, sound for the Montreux Jazz Festival has been provided by Meyer Sound, Innovation and Strategic Partner of the festival. “Our decades-spanning collaboration with the Montreux Jazz Festival is about a shared commitment to sonic excellence,” said Andy Davies, Meyer Sound Director of Product & Services. “As the festival strives to provide the best concert experiences, it needs a partner that can deliver the best sonic experiences. We’re thrilled to be an integral part of the journey.”
For the first time, events took place entirely outside the Montreux Music and Convention Centre, home of the iconic Miles Davis and Stravinski Halls, due to construction work. The closure provided an opportunity for the festival to reinvent itself, expanding to 17 stages set along two kilometers of the Montreux lakefront, plus a venue located on the mountain above the town, anchored by the breathtaking new Lake Stage and the transformed Casino.
More than 400 Meyer Sound loudspeakers powered performances by dozens of artists, from Janelle Monáe to Rag’n’Bone Man, Raye, Justice, Duran Duran, and Diana Krall. Systems ran the gamut from the PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeaker and the 2100-LFC low-frequency control element at the Lake Stage to LINA and LEOPARD compact linear line array loudspeakers, ULTRA family point source loudspeakers, Intelligent DC products, and Bluehorn System studio monitors in the Bibliothèque listening room.
Meyer Sound technologies spanned generations, from vintage UPA loudspeakers making their 20th appearance at the festival to a state-of-the-art Spacemap Go immersive system. Systems were designed by Meyer Sound’s José Gaudin, who went on to work onsite at the festival for his 21st time. Systems were calibrated onsite by the Meyer Sound support team of Oscar Barrientos and Ianina Canalis. All audio, lighting, and video equipment was supplied once again by Swiss rental company and integrator Skynight.
The Lake Stage, a 5,500-capacity venue set lakeside against a stunning Alpine backdrop, showcased the perfect pairing of PANTHER and 2100-LFC, which anchored the main flown stage arrays and delay systems, supported by LEOPARD and LINA loudspeakers, ULTRA-X20 and ULTRA-X40 compact loudspeakers, and 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements.
The system was controlled by eight Galileo GALAXY 816 Network Platforms, running on a MILAN backbone. The Nebra software platform monitored and managed MILAN-equipped loudspeakers, such as PANTHER and 2100-LFC; alongside RMS-equipped systems, such as LEOPARD.
“PANTHER is like a huge studio monitor. The precision and the transparency of that system is unbelievable,” said Montreux Jazz Festival Head of Sound, Martin Reich. “And the subs, the 2100-LFCs, are adding this precision down to 30 Hz. Now that we’re outside and we can hear the system without the room reflections it’s even more impressive how precise it is.”
Alex Bolis, assisting Martin Reich for this expanded edition of the festival, noted exceptionally consistent coverage at the Lake Stage. “The system was very impressive.cI could sit in the seats all the way in the back, and I still felt the same pressure of subs and low mids that I had right in the first row,” he said.
“The first few days I was walking around a lot with my XL2 meter, just to measure the coverage throughout the audience area,” Bolis added. “I was surprised how at every spot I measured it was the same level and the same sound. After a few days I didn’t carry the XL2 anymore.”
Visiting engineers appreciated PANTHER’s precision. “I thoroughly enjoyed mixing PJ Harvey’s Montreux Jazz Festival show on the PANTHER system,” said FOH Engineer, Howard ‘Head’ Bullivant. “I could hear the most delicate changes in EQ and level that I was making on my Midas H3000… It was really interesting to hear the broadcast mix from my desk Left and Right; I was happy to hear how accurately it translated from the concert arena.”
Clive Alcock, FOH engineer for Diana Krall, praised PANTHER’s accuracy and detail. “Mixing my artist on the Lake stage, I found the fidelity of the mid and high frequency sections was spectacular, especially in the 5 to 15 kHz region, where a lot of other products have significant smearing and distortion,” he said. “Although there is more bottom end in the array than I need to use, it does seem to be very linear and stitched to the subwoofer section very smoothly. That really helps keep the integrity of the string bass passages because the pitch stays clearly defined all the way down to the fundamentals.”
Montreux celebrated a return of the iconic Casino, the current building replacing the original, which famously burned to the ground in 1971 during a Frank Zappa gig, inspiring the Deep Purple hit “Smoke on the Water.” With a capacity of 1,300, the reimagined venue offers a half-seated, half-standing setup that evokes memories of its heyday.
The intricate main Casino system, designed for minimal variation in a low-ceiling venue, was based on Meyer Sound LINA very compact linear line array loudspeakers and 900-LFC compact low-frequency control elements, supported by ULTRA-X40 and ULTRA-X20 compact loudspeakers, UPQ-1P full-size loudspeakers, and 750-LFC and 1100-LFC low frequency control elements. The system was controlled by Galileo GALAXY 816 Network Platforms.
Spatial sound debuted at Montreux with the introduction of Meyer Sound’s Spacemap Go program at the Memphis venue. Visiting engineers had a chance to get hands-on with the system and attend an immersive workshop hosted by the University of Geneva, with presentations by Meyer Sound Application Architect and Spatial Audio Specialist, Ianina Canalis.
The Memphis system centered around UPQ-1P loudspeakers and 900-LFC elements, ULTRA-X20 loudspeakers as fills, and ULTRA-X40 and 750-LFC as delays; this system allowed engineers to comfortably mix in traditional stereo with perfect room coverage. For those wishing to move into an immersive soundstage, additional ULTRA-X40 and ULTRA-X20 loudspeakers provided extra sources, integrated with the main PA via Spacemap Go. Control was via Galileo GALAXY 816 Network Platforms, linked to the venue’s DiGiCo console via MILAN.
Memphis FOH Engineer, Max Brocard, who mixed workshops and daytime events in the venue, took an atmospheric approach. “With acoustic music, you cannot do crazy stuff because it needs to stay true to the artist you’re mixing. But it enhances the performance, even if it’s jazz, because you can put reverb on the sides and the whole place feels more lively, like you are inside the music and not just seeing the music in front of you.”
It’s just another way Meyer Sound and the Montreux Jazz Festival are continually elevating the festival experience for engineers and concertgoers alike, something that’s top of mind as the festival’s 60th year — and Meyer Sound’s 40th year as official sound partner — approach.
“This collaboration speaks to everything John and Helen Meyer believe in,” said Davies. “The Montreux Jazz Festival is part of our DNA, and we’re part of theirs. We look forward to many more years of partnership, innovation, and outstanding sound.”
