Key Highlights
- RAYE will open the Montreux Jazz Festival’s 60th edition with a bespoke show titled This Stage May Contain Moments In Time, co-created with Audemars Piguet.
- The performance is scheduled for the opening anniversary night at the Stravinski Auditorium in Montreux, 3–18 July 2026.
- This marks the second year of RAYE’s collaboration with Audemars Piguet, following the 2025 release of the original track “Suzanne” created with Mark Ronson to mark the Manufacture’s 150th anniversary.
- The project sits within Audemars Piguet’s APxMusic programme, active since the brand became Global Partner of the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2019.
- RAYE won six BRIT Awards in 2024 and holds four GRAMMY nominations, making her the most decorated artist at a single BRIT ceremony in history.
A Refined Overview
The Montreux Jazz Festival turns 60 this summer, and Audemars Piguet has chosen that opening night to stage one of the most considered moments of its APxMusic programme to date. British singer-songwriter RAYE will perform This Stage May Contain Moments In Time at the Stravinski Auditorium, a venue selected precisely for the quality of its acoustics. For collectors in the Gulf who follow the Manufacture beyond the atelier, this is the clearest expression yet of how Le Brassus positions cultural investment alongside its horological output.
The collaboration entered its second year in 2026, building on the creative relationship formalised around the brand’s 150th anniversary in 2025. That year, RAYE and Mark Ronson jointly produced “Suzanne”, an original track that fused live instrumentation with digital production, released as a direct tribute to Audemars Piguet’s heritage and family spirit.
The Story Behind the Performance
RAYE’s biography provides the conceptual core of this project. When her record label declined to release her debut album despite several commercial hits, she chose to record and release the work independently. At the 2024 BRIT Awards, that decision was ratified spectacularly: six trophies in a single evening, including Artist, Album and Song of the Year, making her the first woman ever awarded Songwriter of the Year at the ceremony. Her 2025 single “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” reached number one in the UK and number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, later performed at Montreux that same year for its second live outing.
Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta described the alignment plainly: RAYE “shows that you do not need to follow the crowd.” RAYE herself echoed the sentiment, noting that both she and Audemars Piguet share a belief in “timeless expression rather than chasing what’s loud or on-trend.” The language on both sides points to a partnership grounded in conviction, not campaign logic.
Design and Concept of the Show
Audemars Piguet has co-curated This Stage May Contain Moments In Time directly, creating what the press release describes as space for experimentation across sound, image and storytelling. Music legends will be woven into the concert’s narrative, framing the evening as both a personal milestone and a tribute to six decades of the festival’s history. The Stravinski Auditorium, founded in 1967 alongside the festival itself, provides an architecture that rewards exactly this kind of layered production.
The show’s title mirrors RAYE’s concurrent headline tour, This Tour May Contain New Music, a 51-date arena run across Europe, the UK and North America preceding 14 stadium dates with Bruno Mars. Opening the festival as a headline act in her own right places her at a different register from the fringe performances the APxMusic programme began with in 2021.
Where It Sits in the Brand’s Programme
APxMusic has developed a structured timeline since 2019: the 180 miniseries documenting artist creative processes, the Audemars Piguet Parallel concert series launched in 2022 pairing performances with hospitality in unusual locations, and individual collaborations with artists ranging from Mark Ronson to the Berlin-based collective Keinemusik. The Montreux Jazz Festival partnership remains the programme’s anchor, and the 60th-edition opening is the most prominent placement it has reached. Collectors tracking Audemars Piguet’s cultural calendar, whether through Watches and Wonders or the Festival circuit, will find this moment a logical extension of the Manufacture’s long-standing approach to artistic engagement.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is 'This Stage May Contain Moments In Time'?
It is a bespoke live show co-created by RAYE and Audemars Piguet that will open the 60th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival. Conceived as a defining landmark in RAYE's career, the performance will be held at the Stravinski Auditorium and will weave music legends into its narrative as a tribute to six decades of the festival's history.
How long has Audemars Piguet been partnering with the Montreux Jazz Festival?
Audemars Piguet became Global Partner of the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2019, simultaneously launching its APxMusic programme to support musical artists through collaborations focused on their artistic development.
What is the Audemars Piguet APxMusic programme?
APxMusic is the Manufacture's platform for creative dialogue with musical artists. Since 2019 it has produced the 180 miniseries, the Audemars Piguet Parallel concert series, and individual collaborations with talents including Mark Ronson, Lucky Daye, and the Berlin-based DJ collective Keinemusik.
What awards has RAYE won that connect to her partnership with Audemars Piguet?
RAYE won six trophies at the 2024 BRIT Awards, becoming the most decorated artist at a single ceremony and the first woman named Songwriter of the Year. She is also a four-time GRAMMY nominee and the first artist nominated for both Best New Artist and Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical) in the same year.
Where is Audemars Piguet headquartered and when was it founded?
Audemars Piguet has been based in Le Brassus, in the Vallée de Joux in the Swiss Jura, since 1875. It remains the oldest fine watchmaking manufacturer still owned by its founding families, the Audemars and Piguet families.
Explore more from AUDEMARS PIGUET: Crafting the show with RAYE · RAYE Takes the Stage at the 60th Montreux Jazz Festival.
