The Montreux Jazz Festival expands to Franschhoek in South Africa

International editions under license and collaborations have already taken place in Tokyo, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Suzhou in China.

For the first time in over sixty years of existence, the Montreux Jazz Festival is expanding to the African continent, starting from Friday, March 27th, in the heart of the wine region of the Cape in South Africa, surrounded by majestic mountains and vineyards in Franschhoek.

While the iconic festival takes place in Montreux, Switzerland, international licensed editions and collaborations have already been organized in Tokyo, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Suzhou in China. This new version in Franschhoek is the result of the work of two residents of the South African town.

Regular attendees of the Montreux festival, Mark and Raffaella Goedvolk, wanted to offer a version of the festival inspired by Africa, explains James Stewart, co-organizer of the festival and resident of Franschhoek.

“What makes the festival unique is a combination of world-class music and the cultural richness of the Franschhoek Valley – the food, wine, landscape, and people,” he believes.

Among the thirty artists on the program, local talents and international names such as the 76-year-old Malian singer and composer Salif Keita or the South African Thandiswa Mazwai are featured.

An attendance of 5,000 people per day is expected, with a “limited capacity to preserve the quality of the experience,” explains festival spokesperson Kaz Henderson, with the goal of making it an annual event.

Literal meaning “French corner” in Afrikaans, Franschhoek is home to a monument in memory of the French Huguenots who fled religious persecution to settle in the Cape Colony in 1688. It is somewhat logical to see the Montreux festival’s version taking place, given that Montreux is located on the shores of Lake Geneva, near where the theologian Jean Calvin, who inspired the Calvinism of the Huguenots, spent his final days.

What is less logical is its date: it coincides with the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, 26 years old, also held approximately 80 km away in Cape Town. “Organizing this on the same weekend reflects something very detrimental to the industry,” regrets Rayhaan Survé, president of espAfrika, the organizing company of the Cape festival.

The overlap of the two events divides both the logistical means and the audience. Over 30,000 people are expected over the weekend at the Cape festival, to see, among others, the local star Abdullah Ibrahim, now 91 years old. Other great names of South African music such as Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba have participated in its rich history.