Rock & metal
Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz, born in 1964 in New York, is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who blends rock, funk, soul and blues into a single sound. Revealed in 1989 by “Let Love Rule”, he strung together hits (“It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over”, “Are You Gonna Go My Way”, “Fly Away”) and won four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, from 1999 to 2002. At Montreux he played the festival in 2008 and 2015, before headlining the Scène du Lac on 16 July 2024. One of his guitars is on display at Funky Claude’s Bar.
Lenny Kravitz, rock by the lake
A sound of his own
Lenny Kravitz belongs to that line of artists who play most of their instruments themselves and cultivate a warm, analogue sound, an heir to the 1960s and 1970s. Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards: on his first records he shaped almost single-handedly a rock shot through with soul and funk, against the fashions of his time.
From “Let Love Rule” (1989) to “Are You Gonna Go My Way” (1993) and “Fly Away” (1998), he imposed an instantly recognisable signature and sold more than forty million albums. Four years running, from 1999 to 2002, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, a record in that category.
Three appearances at Montreux
The Montreux Jazz Festival, where rock has always had its place alongside jazz, welcomed him first in 2008, then in 2015. A return planned for 2020 was prevented by the pandemic.
On 16 July 2024, Lenny Kravitz finally came back to headline the Scène du Lac, for a rock night opened by the duo Larkin Poe. The same edition brought together other great names of the electric guitar, from Deep Purple to Sting: Montreux confirmed, that year again, its taste for rock.
His guitar at Funky Claude’s Bar
At Funky Claude’s Bar, inside the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, one of his guitars, a bright blue Gibson, is displayed in a case, beside a painted conga of Carlos Santana and rare photographs from Claude Nobs’s personal collection. A nod to the legends who made the festival, cocktail in hand.
