Build Your Montreux Jazz Festival 60th Anniversary Hitster Pack with Hitify

This week, one of the most legendary music events in the world opens its doors for a very special occasion: the Montreux Jazz Festival 2026, celebrating its incredible 60th anniversary edition from July 3 to 18 on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Founded in 1967 by visionary producer Claude Nobs, Montreux has hosted virtually every musical legend of the past six decades, making it the perfect inspiration for the ultimate Hitster card pack.

Whether you are heading to the Riviera Vaudoise this summer or celebrating from home, there has never been a better excuse to dig into the deep catalogue of Montreux classics. With Hitify, you can identify every iconic song from the Montreux universe and build your own custom Hitster pack for an unforgettable music game night.

What is the Montreux Jazz Festival?

Montreux is far more than a jazz festival. Over six decades it has evolved into a celebration of all popular music, from jazz and blues to rock, soul, funk, R&B, and pop. The festival takes place each July along the stunning shores of Lake Geneva, with the Swiss Alps as a backdrop. It is famous for its intimate atmosphere, world-class acoustics, and the remarkable diversity of its lineup.

Some of the most iconic moments in music history happened in Montreux. Deep Purple famously wrote Smoke on the Water about a fire that broke out during a Frank Zappa concert at the Montreux Casino in 1971. Miles Davis, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Prince, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and countless other legends have left their mark on this festival. The 2026 edition marks 60 years of that extraordinary musical legacy.

What is Hitster?

Hitster is the addictive card game where you guess the release year of songs. Each card has a QR code that plays the actual track through your phone. You listen and try to place the card at the correct chronological position in your personal timeline. The closer you are to the real year, the more points you score. It works brilliantly with any genre and any era, making it the perfect party game for music lovers of all ages.

With Hitify you can scan and identify songs you hear at parties or on the radio, discover their release years, and collect them into your own themed Hitster packs to print or play digitally.

Build Your Montreux Jazz Festival 60th Anniversary Hitster Pack

Here are 12 iconic songs strongly associated with the Montreux Jazz Festival and the artists who made it legendary:

• "Smoke on the Water" - Deep Purple (1972) - literally inspired by the Montreux fire of 1971, one of the most famous rock riffs ever written
• "Feeling Good" - Nina Simone (1965) - Nina performed at Montreux multiple times and her sets became the stuff of legend
• "So What" - Miles Davis (1959) - the jazz masterpiece from Kind of Blue, Miles was a Montreux regular for decades
• "The Thrill Is Gone" - B.B. King (1969) - the blues king delivered some of his most celebrated performances at Montreux
• "Superstition" - Stevie Wonder (1972) - Stevie's Montreux performances are among the greatest in festival history
• "Purple Rain" - Prince (1984) - Prince played a legendary three-hour set at Montreux in 2009 that left the audience speechless
• "Heroes" - David Bowie (1977) - Bowie lived in Montreux for years and recorded several albums there at Mountain Studios
• "Roxanne" - The Police (1978) - Sting and The Police were Montreux favourites, appearing multiple times over the years
• "Smooth" - Santana ft. Rob Thomas (1999) - Carlos Santana is one of the most iconic repeat performers in Montreux history
• "Higher Love" - Steve Winwood (1986) - a soul classic from an artist who regularly wowed Montreux crowds
• "Respect" - Aretha Franklin (1967) - the Queen of Soul brought her unmistakable power to the Montreux stage
• "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye (1971) - one of the greatest albums ever made, from an era when Montreux was at its creative peak

Spanning 1959 to 1999, this pack covers jazz, blues, rock, soul, and funk, making it one of the most musically diverse Hitster experiences you can create. The mix of familiar classics and deeper cuts will challenge even the most knowledgeable music fans.

How to Build Your Pack with Hitify

Start at hitify.app and use the music recognition tool to identify songs from Montreux-era playlists on your favourite streaming service. Hitify tells you instantly what the song is and when it was released. Collect your favourites, note the years, and you have the foundation of your custom pack.

To make it even more interesting, challenge your group to guess not just the year, but which Montreux legend performed the song. Happy 60th, Montreux!