Bob Dylan Leads Stacked 2023 Montreux Jazz Festival Lineup

Bob Dylan, Sam Smith, Lil Nas X, Nile Rodgers and Janelle Monáe are among the big stars confirmed for the 57th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival, set to take place mid-year on the shoreline of Lake Geneva, Switzerland.

Also lining up this time are Christine and the Queens, Chilly Gonzales, Mavis Staples, Mark Ronson, Norah Jones, Lionel Richie, Iggy Pop, Caroline Polachek, Chris Isaak and many others, organizers announce today (April 5).

This year’s show is set to run June 30 to July 15.

Dylan returns to Montreux for the first time in a decade to present his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways, which arrived at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Rough and Rowdy Ways earned Dylan his 23rd career top 10, as he became the first act to have achieved at least one new top 40-charting album in every decade from the 1960s through the 2020s.

Meanwhile, the iconic fest’s two venues, the Auditorium Stravinski and Montreux Jazz Lab, will host performances from across the music spectrum, and from the late ‘50s to the present day.

Auditorium Stravinski boasts a stacked bill with Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Maluma, and many others, its performers owning a combined 85 Grammy Awards. Sam Smith will perform for the first time at the Auditorium, eight years after wowing the crowds at the Montreux Jazz Lab.

Established in 1967 by late jazz connoisseur Claude Nobs, the festival has hosted many of the greats of contemporary music, from Prince to David Bowie, Nina Simone, Quincy Jones, Marvin Gaye, Elton John and others. Mathieu Jaton has directed the fest since 2013, the year Nobs passed away.

Nearly 250,000 spectators attend the event in a regular year, which continues to evolve and introduce audiences to styles and tunes well outside the broad world that is jazz; the event paused in 2020 due to pandemic, returned in 2021 with a downsized format, and was back to its regular programming in 2022.

Also appearing on this year’s program is Brit Award-winning indie-pop duo Wet Leg, Grammy Award-winning Australian electronic trio Rufus Du Sol, and Aussie retro soul act the Teskey Brothers.

On the closing night, uber-producer Mark Ronson will present a specially curated and “unique collaborative concert,” organizers say, featuring special guests Yebba and Lucky Daye.

Tickets go on sale Thursday (April 6) at montreuxjazzfestival.com.