People love it. The detail is so crazy, you can hear things you've never heard on another system. The system is so well-behaved and precise, we can keep the energy focused on the audience without shaking the neighbors’ windows—even with a five-story apartment building right beside us. The festival sits in the middle of town, so control is critical.”
Martin ReichSound Coordinator and
Lake Stage Resident Engineer,
Montreux Jazz Festival
Between July 4 and 19, the 59th Montreux Jazz Festival brought 250,000 music fans together for two weeks of live music along the sparkling shores of Switzerland’s Lake Geneva. More than 700 performances from legends to rising stars filled its stages with genres spanning jazz, Latin music, R&B, pop, rock, EDM, and hip hop. Kicking off with a tribute to Quincy Jones by Chaka Khan, the lineup spanned icons and fresh voices alike, including Samara Joy, Max Richter, RAYE, Benson Boone, Shaboozey, and Brandi Carlile.
Now in its 39th year as the festival’s Global Official Sound Partner, Meyer Sound powered 15 venues and spaces throughout Montreux with more than 400 loudspeakers, delivering extraordinary experiences for artists and audience members alike. All audio, lighting, and video equipment was supplied once again by Swiss rental company and integrator Skynight, with audio systems designed by Meyer Sound’s Application Architect José Gaudin.
At the festival’s iconic Lake Stage—its final year before a planned move back to the Auditorium Stravinski in 2026—Meyer Sound deployed a loudspeaker system designed for scale and precision. For the first time, the stage’s main system was powered entirely by Class D amplification, offering a lighter, more efficient footprint without compromising impact. PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeakers anchored the system, supported by LEOPARD, LINA, and ULTRA‑X40 loudspeakers and 2100‑LFC low frequency control elements.
“People love it. The detail is so crazy, you can hear things you’ve never heard on another system,” says Martin Reich, the festival’s sound coordinator and resident engineer at the Lake Stage. “The system is so well-behaved and precise, we can keep the energy focused on the audience without shaking the neighbors’ windows—even with a five-story apartment building right beside us. The festival sits in the middle of town, so control is critical.”
Beyond the Lake Stage, Meyer Sound systems enabled immersive and experimental performances across Montreux. At Ipanema—the festival’s premier DJ venue—two ULTRA‑X80 versatile point source loudspeakers served as the main P.A., with support from ULTRA-X40 and ULTRA‑X20 compact point source loudspeakers. Spacemap Go, Meyer Sound’s spatial sound design and mixing tool, allowed DJs to move sound throughout the room even when working from simple stereo sources. “At first, I didn’t expect it to work as well as it did with just a left/right signal, but it makes the room feel more alive,” says Sebastian Hefti, Ipanema’s front of house engineer. “It keeps the energy moving without distracting the artist.”
The Memphis venue, a hot spot for late-night jam sessions, expanded its creative capabilities this year with ULTRA-X80 loudspeakers as the main left/right system, complemented by other ULTRA family loudspeakers for immersive effects. The space’s Spacemap Go system supported both traditional mixes for visiting engineers and more adventurous spatial soundscapes, including real-time sound panning. The venue’s technical team experimented with tactile control devices—including joysticks and stream decks—and linked audio movement with lighting automation, creating a synchronized immersive audiovisual experience.
For visiting engineers, Meyer Sound systems provided a transparent, reliable foundation for performances across all genres. Matthias Garrick, front of house engineer for RAYE, calls his experience mixing on the PANTHER system “nothing short of incredible… something about it sings, something about it soars, and of course it absolutely roars,” he says. “Getting a large, tight mix with so many sources and still having the headroom to sit one of the most present vocals I’ve ever heard on top—these boxes take it all in stride.”
With Meyer Sound systems covering stages from the open air Lake Stage to Montreux’s most intimate venues, the company’s role demands both flexibility and power. “This festival pushes us to think big and small at the same time,” says Andy Davies, Meyer Sound’s senior director of product management. “We’re delivering the sheer power of the Lake Stage one moment, and enabling spatial, immersive moments at Ipanema and Memphis the next. That range is what makes Montreux special—and why, after nearly four decades, we’re excited to keep evolving alongside it.”
Additional comments from engineers at Montreux 2025:
Joey Diehl, FOH, Benson Boone
“Thanks to the Meyer team [of Oscar Barrientos and Ianina Canalis] for how they tuned the Lake Stage system. I was not only surprised but also thrilled with how the show sounded. The power, clarity, and the speed of the drivers let me play around with details I rarely ever get.”
Patrick Tunbridge, FOH, Grace Jones
“It was fantastic to be back at Montreux Jazz Festival again this year mixing the Grace Jones show with Meyer Sound, this time on the outdoor Lake Stage. It was an effortless, very enjoyable experience. Of particular note was the system being almost devoid of any corrective EQ, and no EQ on my console master bus. Big thanks to Meyer Sound!”
Mike Droke, FOH/PM, Diana Ross
“Having just come from touring a Meyer Sound rig from Major Tom, I was thrilled to know that we’d have the same focus and clarity for the festival date with PANTHER on the main stage. It didn’t disappoint! A beautiful system for a beautiful stage. Thanks to all the Meyer Sound team for delivering yet again.”