21 bands and 40,000 festival goers attended the first edition of Musilac Mont-Blanc.

Held at the foot of Mont-Blanc, enthusiastic crowds enjoyed three days of eclectic mountain, sunshine and magnificent night skies.

Headliners ranged from Scottish pop-rock band Texas to Rag’n’bone Man to French rappers Orelsan and Lomepal. Also on show were the smooth blues of Ben Harper and the wild antics of the mo-hawked, hard rocking Shaka Ponk.

The festival featured seven bands each day, from mid-afternoon until midnight, covering a wide spectrum of musical genres and nationalities: UK new wave band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Swiss rocker Stephan Eicher, Canadian pop-rock band Walk Off The Earth, French space disco group L’Imperatrice, Belgian acoustic soul reggae Selah Sue, US wild woman Beth Ditto and the French electro group Synapson.

The backdrop of the Aiguille du Midi and the illuminated peaks of the Mont Blanc Massif made for a dramatic sunset setting, bathing the glaciers of Mont Blanc in pink and purple light.

Musilac Mont-Blanc is co-produced by the Chamonix Valley Tourist Office, by Rémi Perrier Organization (Musilac Aix-les-Bains) and by Mont-Blanc Media. “We have experienced a quite exceptional first edition! It is certainly due to the co-branding effect Chamonix and Musilac. We set ourselves the goal of building a festive and popular event by and for the inhabitants of the Chamonix Valley. I think we have succeeded! The vocation of the event, built around the concept of rock & ride, was to highlight and enhance the appeal of spring skiing in an exceptional environment! When Ben Harper said that this festival offered the most beautiful stage in the world, I listened with great emotion, because it’s so very true!,” Nicolas Durochat, tourist office manager.

This was a massive event for the mountain town of just under 9,000 residents. Some 40 people from the tourist office were mobilised during the event and over thirty local Chamonix businesses were involved in the festival.

Approximately 700 people were working at the festival every day with no less than 300 volunteers.