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Did you know that laws around privacy in Switzerland are so strong that paparazzi is essentially illegal? Maybe that’s why FKA Twigs is spotted eating dinner and hanging out carefree with her pals around her ‘Eusexua’ main stage spectacular at Montreux Jazz Festival 2025? There’s also just something in the air around here.
Freddie Mercury used to retreat here to recharge and find his muse (he and Queen would record here often), David Bowie used to live down the road, and Prince loved coming here so much he immortalised it in his song ‘Lavaux’. Sitting on the crystal Lake Geneva beneath the majestic Alps, the Swiss paradise is enough of a massage for the senses without all the sweet sounds along the waterfront. Since 1967, music’s finest and most cutting-edge have flocked to Montreux Jazz Festival. You’ve probably heard a live album recorded here by Nina Simone, Tracy Chapman, Bowie, Iggy Pop, The Smile or RAYE. This is where music thrives and history is made.
With that comes a whole lot of deference. When NME arrives, people are still talking about Jamie xx building his downpour headline set with a nod to Montreux by splicing in a little Marvin Gaye, and the vibe bleeds into Bloc Party’s sunset show on The Lake Stage. “As it’s not every day you play Montreux Jazz Festival, we thought we’d do something special and play something we don’t normally play,” frontman Kele Okereke tells the crowd. “Why not?” They break from the punchy ‘Silent Alarm’-heavy 20th anniversary celebration hit set to let the show breathe with a crisp and soulful outing of ‘Hymns’ rarity ‘Only He Can Heal Me’.
Whether it’s the sight lines, the pumping sound or the magic in the air, this marks the best time we’ve seen Bloc Party this summer – and the same amazingly goes for headliners Pulp.
“Bonsoir!” Jarvis Cocker greets the crowd, fluent in French as he charms us and introduces new album “‘Plus’, ou en Anglais, ‘More’”. He’s been making himself comfortable. Earlier in the day, he gave a talk to festival-goers on the importance of outsider art, where he offered the advice: “The trick is to try and do it with your mind semi-turned off”. It’s that idea that inspires hope when Cocker and band rock up at The Memphis after completing their headliner duties (one of the 80 per cent of stages at the festival that are free to attend, and where anyone can jam – with big names like RAYE known to come have a tinkle or a sing-song).
Sadly, he just waits in the wings as Pulp’s live bassist and backing singers let rip. Still, one mustn’t grumble after that absolute worldie of a headline set. New album cuts ‘Slow Jam’ and ‘Got To Have Love’ effortlessly fly high alongside indie disco classics ‘Babies’ and ‘Disco 2000’, with Cocker’s arm aloft in silhouette as a wiry reflection of the Freddie Mercury statue just outside the venue. ‘L.O.V.E.’ is a universal language.
MJF has already seen sets from the likes of Jade, RAYE, Celeste, Neil Young, London Grammar, Beth Gibbons and James Blake, with Santana, Ezra Collective, The Black Keys, Sigrid and Alanis Morissette set to close it out. Sam Fender sadly pulled out for a second time due to illness, leaving live-love-laugh cheese popper Benson Boone to step up and headline our last night here. Even he senses the weight of the occasion, with the classy move of a spirited cover of ‘Seventeen Going Under’ before later doing one of his not-tedious-at-all backflips into the lake.
We swing by the Casino stage for the silky snake-charmer tones of Latin-pop icon Jorge Drexler and avante-garde Mexican folklore wisdom of Natalia Lafourcade before strolling the lakefront. By the water, there’s rave, some local rock and the sight of hundreds trying to scale the free, packed-out Spotlight Stage to catch a glimpse of French rapper Jolagreen23. MJF is alive with a love of music; not least because the sound quality is impeccable – better than any music festival this writer can remember, perhaps even any standalone venue.
Next year will mark MJF’s 60th edition, with the town’s renovated and iconic Convention Centre – where so many historic shows have taken place – set to take centre stage once again as the main venue after The Lake Stage’s two-year tenure. Expect legends on the line-up alongside the cool and up-and-coming, with some unknowns who just want to jam.
Megastar, muso or just a nerd, it doesn’t matter. As big as they come, no one is bigger than Montreux Jazz Festival. As Jack White famously once put it: “Montreux Jazz is for people who really love music. It starts with that; everything else is secondary. Which is rare nowadays.”
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The closing hours of Reading 2026 have finally arrived. Florence + The Machine brought the rain during ‘Dog Days Are Over’ at The Grid, opening the heavens and leaving the festival site completely soaked. The weary fans who have stayed behind are wet, exhausted and clearly feeling the effects of the weekend. What they need now is one final enormous celebration to make the wait worthwhile.
The Gallery tent comes alive as the speakers blast ‘Favourite’ by Friday’s headliners and fellow countrymen Fontaines D.C., receiving the kind of reaction usually reserved for ‘Mr Brightside’ at a drunken wedding reception. Moments later, Kneecap display their familiar statement accusing Israel of carrying out genocide against the people of Palestine and Lebanon, with support from the UK government. It captures the Belfast rap trio perfectly, combining serious political messages with an unapologetic party atmosphere.
“We use our platform to talk about what we believe is right,” Mo Chara explains during the performance, before recognising those who “aren’t so fucking lucky” and whose voices have been suppressed. He soon encourages the audience to roar “fuck Netanyahu” and “free free Palestine”. Later, he starts a powerful chant of “Aaaaaa-ndy Buuurn-ham’s a waaaaaaan-ker” to the melody of ‘Seven Nation Army’, targeting our new Prime Minister over his claim that “a united Ireland is off the table”. Laughing, he asks: “The BBC won’t broadcast that, or will they?” As it turned out, they did not.
Away from the headlines and the controversy, there is no denying the connection Kneecap have built with their audience. Politics may shape the conversation, but the crowd also came to enjoy themselves, ready for a rave after the rally. The performance begins carefully with the heavy rumble of ‘Smugglers & Scholars’, before exploding during the Grian Chatten collaboration ‘Better Way To Live’ and the threatening energy of ‘Sick In The Head’. “Are ya ready for a mad one?” Mo Chara shouts. The response is already obvious.
The atmosphere becomes increasingly chaotic as the hip hop rhythm of ‘Cold At The Top’ and the hypnotic trance sounds of ‘An Ra’ send the entire tent into motion. The trio jokingly thank the UK for everything it has given Ireland, listing UKIP, fish and chips, a mental health crisis, Jimmy Saville, HP Sauce and Bloody Sunday. However, the show reaches another level once the second half begins. The explosive ‘Sayonara’ brings the ‘beef’ to ‘IBEEFA’, while ‘Get Your Brits Out’ and ‘Guilty Conscience’ give the crowd every reason to obey Móglaí Bap’s demand to “oooopen up the piiiiiit”.
Anyone watching closely may have questioned why the cameras continued to focus on Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara. The pair eventually reveal that they have spent recent weeks performing alongside a “provisional” DJ Próvai. Wearing the familiar tricolour balaclava, the temporary replacement handles his role as the crowd agitator with confidence while their bandmate enjoys some paternity leave. “Some things are more important than music, and that’s family,” they explain. How sweet. Móglaí Bap quickly destroys the tender moment by adding: “As you might know, the Brits took all our potatoes from Ireland; they took all our cocaine,” before declaring, “but we still have all our caaandy.” The group then charge directly into one of the biggest tracks ever written about extremely powerful ketamine.
‘Liar’s Tale’ sparks another huge reaction with its response to Keir Starmer, “genocide armer”, while the group warn that “you’re not getting away with doing nothing”. It is a politically charged message hidden inside an irresistible anthem from musicians who have experienced the “belly of the beast” through the legal system. Their latest album, ‘Fenian’, has helped Kneecap fully embrace the celebration that has always been part of their identity. Their live production now feels capable of filling arenas, blending the intimacy of a late night lock in with the rhythmic force and visual scale of The Chemical Brothers, the reckless electronic punk spirit of The Prodigy, and the fearless political honesty of Public Enemy. The spectacular visuals complete the experience.
Kneecap fans at Reading 2026. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
Kneecap fans at Reading 2026. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
Closing with the powerful combination of ‘Fenian’, ‘H.O.O.D.’ and the enormous ‘The Recap’, Kneecap bring our final celebration at Reading to a thrilling conclusion while also finishing their last festival appearance of the summer. “It’s been a pleasure to spend it with you mad c**ts,” Mo Chara says before leaving the stage. The feeling is mutual.
Return to NME here for the newest reports, reviews, photographs, conversations and further coverage from Reading & Leeds 2026.
