By Tyler Ody
MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SPOTLIGHT SESSIONS
SERIES OF CONCERTS BY EMERGING ARTISTS SET TO TAKE PLACE IN THE SWISS ALPS
BREAKTHROUGH ARTISTS TAKING PART INCLUDE JOESEF, FLOWEROVLOVE, DEBBIE AND MORE
The MJF Spotlight Sessions will be held in the ski resort of Villars-sur-Ollon during a winter residency between 11 February and 1 April 2023. Spread over six Saturdays, the concerts by emerging artists will be held at the Villars Palace Theatre. Each evening will begin and end with DJ sets at the Villars Lodge. Ticketing opens on 25 January at 11 am (concerts paying, DJ sets free of charge).
After having been to London, Hamburg and Zurich, MJF Spotlight settles in the Vaud Alps to showcase the stars of tomorrow. Selected by the bookers of the Montreux Jazz Festival, the six artists on the programme are among the most promising in pop, soul and R’n’B music.
The MJF Spotlight Sessions will feature the English singer Cherise, who has already opened for Michael Kiwanuka and Jamie Cullum; Debbie, who was featured on Stormzy’s latest album; the Belgian singer Mentissa, the up-and-coming indie pop artist Flowerovlove; the creative French alt-pop artist Aime Simone and the Scottish soul-pop singer Joesef.
Spread over six Saturdays between 11 February and 1 April 2023, the concerts will start at 8pm in the Villars Palace Theatre. The MJF Spotlight Sessions will open with DJ sets at the Villars Lodge at après-ski time, from 4.30pm, and will continue after the concerts until midnight.
ABOUT MJF SPOTLIGHT
The MJF Spotlight project was launched during the pandemic in 2021 to support and promote young artists through digital content. Since then, the concept has evolved with the creation of special events, during the Montreux Jazz Festival and throughout the year. However, a digital focus remains at the heart of the project, notably with the broadcasting of live video sessions. These are produced by the teams of Montreux Media Ventures, a subsidiary of the Festival responsible for diversifying its activities by producing content and musical experiences throughout the year.
MJF Spotlight has already enabled the Festival to highlight numerous emerging artists, such as the British Sam Ryder, the Argentine Nathy Peluso, the Belgian Pierre de Maere, the French November Ultra and the Swiss Priya Ragu and Kings Elliott.
The Villars Institute is a new partner of the project and supports artistic and cultural activities promoting intergenerational collaboration and young artists. Montreux Jazz Festival thanks Swisscom and bank Julius Baer, who have been presenting partners of MJF Spotlight since its inception.
CONCERTS
Saturday 11 February
CHERISE (UK)
Saturday 18 February
DEBBIE (UK)
Saturday 25 February
MENTISSA (BE)
Saturday 4 March
FLOWEROVLOVE (UK)
Saturday 11 March
AIME SIMONE (FR)
Saturday 1 April
JOESEF (UK)
SCHEDULE
APRÈS-SKI
@Villars Lodge (free entrance) 4.30pm – 8pm
CONCERT
@Théâtre du Villars Palace (CHF 29.-) 8pm – 9pm
DJ SET
@Villars Lodge (free entrance) 9pm – midnight
MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
www.instagram.com/
www.twitter.com/MontreuxJazz
www.facebook.com/
www.youtube.com/user/