Historically of Aix-Les-Bains Musilac is celebrating its 15th anniversary with an exciting extension to Chamonix Mont Blanc in April 2018 – 19th, 20th and 21st. Get your head around the Musilac festival Chamonix with our introductory guide below, ahead of the announcement of artists and pending sale of ticket.

We go into detail about what you can expect and how you can enjoy the biggest addition to the Chamonix events calendar since the UTMB arrived in 2003.

Director of Chamonix Tourist Office, Nicolas Durochat, has taken the cultural tourism wheel and is steering us to musical enlightenment. Throw in a boost for local commerce during a time our ski season traditionally fades into inter-season without a beat and you’ve got the recipe for a landmark event!

Party of the season to close the season

In the official press release for the event the organisers describe in detail their own motivations and how they plan to motivate the local community alike.

Nicolas Durochat believes that “like any major capital, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc has to renew its image and diversify with more festive and cultural offerings”.

By franchising the well-established ‘Musilac’ brand, the team have immediately activated international interest. This is fixed to “mobilize all the foreign communities of the valley around a strong ambition: that of becoming the closing destination of the ski season in the Alps.”

3 days: 19-20-21 April

Mont Blanc, the Aiguille du Midi and the striking Glacier des Bossons will be the backdrop to the festival stage at the Bois du Bouchet paragliding landing field on the edge of Chamonix town centre. There with be up to 15,000 spectators every night and 15 acts to see in all.

Unlike the original Musilac at Aix les Bains there will be no camping (it is winter after all!). However Chamonix All Year is on hand and is already in cahoots with the Musilac festival Chamonix to house the influx of visitors in true Chamonix style: rental apartments and chalets.

See our Chamonix All Year 4-in-1 package for great value: accommodation + airport transfers + 3 day ski pass + 3 day festival pass!

Rock ‘n’ Ride: ski season extended

The idea is that, instead of enjoying the sunshine and lakeside activities of the original mid-summer Musilac event, you can enjoy the final snow and skiing of the season before joining fellow revellers at the Chamonix central stage location each evening.

Snow permitting, Compagnie du Mont Blanc is set to extend the closing dates of Brévent and Flégère until after the event! Therefore, along with Grand Montets and the Aiguille du Midi, you will be able to celebrate the end of the ski season with extra choice and style.

Musilac Mont Blanc will also be putting on dedicated shuttles to get you from snow to stage.

Musilac festival Chamonix line-up

Although gigantism will never be part of its genes, Musilac has succeeding in becoming the biggest pop-rock event in the Rhône-Alpes region. Their boutique (environmentally conscious) style has attracted some of the biggest names of pop, rock and even electro over the years.

Chamonix All Year has it on good authority that the Musilac Mont Blanc line-up hopes to be trans-generational and make its own mark appealing to our melting pot of local nationalities and visitors: Swiss, Italian, Swedish, NZ/Australian and of course British!

While we can’t yet reveal the acts for 2018 we do know it will look something like this each night of the event:

  • 3pm: Doors open
  • 3.30pm- 7pm: Discovering fresh new groups & up and coming artists
  • 7.15pm: London calling! A well-established British group / artist
  • 8.45pm: French headliner with national recognition
  • 10.30pm: Headliner with very established international recognition

Size & scale of Musilac festival Chamonix

The 16,000m² venue at Bois du Bouchet will host 15,000 people each night. Compare this to the 30,000 spectators who descended on the Aix les Bains Musilac venue last year to see Sting and we can estimate our setting is 1/3 the size of that of its big sister event.

In total, organisers hope to see 33,000 spectators across the three nights at the Chamonix event.

Have a look through some of the biggest acts who have shared the Musilac stage in years gone by: the calibre of artist you can expect to see at Musilac Mont Blanc.

  • 2017: Justice • Sting • Phoenix •Die Antwoord • The Lumineers • Two Door Cinema Club • Texas
  • 2016: Elton John • Ratatat • Shake Shake Go • Birdy Nam Nam • Boys Noize • Foals • St Germain
  • 2015: The Kooks • David Guetta • Hot Chip • Paolo Nutini • Alt-J • Christine and The Queens • The Chemical Brothers • Muse
  • 2014: London Grammar • Kaiser Chiefs • Motörhead • Shaka Ponk • Vanessa Paradis • Bakermat • Placebo • Kavinsky • Tom Odell • Stromae • Giorgio Moroder
  • 2013: Blondie • Thirty Seconds To Mars • C2C • Azealia Banks • Asaf Avidan • Phoenix • Paul Kalkbrenner • Klaxons • Jamiroquai • Vampire Weekend
  • 2012: Alabama Shakes • Bat for Lashes • The Specials • Metronomy • Franz Ferdinand • Lenny Kravitz • LMFAO • Blink-182 • Yuksek
  • 2011: Morcheeba • Mogwaï • Angus & Julia Stone • Carlos Santana • Scissor Sisters • The Bloody Beetroots • The Ting Tings • PJ Harvey • Kasabian • Ben Harper
  • 2010: ZZ Top • -M- • Peter Doherty • Mika • Florence and the Machine • Seasick Steve • Rodrigo y Gabriela • Indochine • Phoenix • Eiffel
  • 2009
    The Pretenders • The Prodigy • The Gossip • Birdy Nam Nam • Bombay Bicycle Club • Sophie Delila • Lady Kill • Franz Ferdinand • Duffy
  • 2008: Patti Smith • Vanessa Paradis • Babyshambles • Mika • Yael Naim • Yelle • Ben’s Brother • The Virgins • The John Butler Trio • KT Tunstall
  • 2007: Razorlight • Zazie • Arctic Monkeys • Keane • Tété • Superbus • Abd al Malik • Sean Lennon • Rose

Q&A

  • How do we get tickets? Follow Chamonix All Year on Facebook and we’ll keep you up to date with announcements and the ticket release dates.You can also buy tickets with one of our competitively priced packages before availability sells out.
  • What else will be at the festival? You can expect merchandise shops, bars, food trucks and even pop up restaurants at the event – all curated to show off the best Chamonix has to offer to the World stage. Plus, since 2017, Musilac has gone cashless with MoneyLac, a cashless payment system which allows you to pay for festival transactions with a pre-paid wrist band. Alternatively, you can use the Lyf Pay app on your phone. The queues at the bar or at the catering stands are thereby significantly reduced for everyone.
  • Will it be too cold in April? Warm Foehn winds are often prevalent during spring time but unfortunately no one can predict exactly the weather. Just like Glastonbury, rain or shine, the event will be held at this outdoor venue so bring a selection of attire accordingly, and most certainly gloves!
  • When will the acts be announced? The acts will be announced in full by mid-November. The first acts will be leaked with the first tickets by the end of October.

Stay tuned for more news about Musilac festival Chamonix!