"We are back!" - The return of the Mad Muni Festival, which had been announced on the website after a two-year forced hiatus, was celebrated extensively over two days on the arranged grounds closed to Saanen airfield. The 8th edition of the festival in Saanen was not only a crowd puller for locals, who were happy to welcome back the festival to the region, many had also travelled from further afield. Visitors from Zug, for example, said that the trip was worth it every year, that they appreciated the family atmosphere and the heart and soul that the organisers put into the planning. Many who had come from further away had pitched tents nearby, others planned to spend the night in their cars or campers for an uncomplicated overnight stay. Some even planned to party the whole night through.

From traditional to rock
As the concept of the festival had transformed and been adapted from the previous editions, the focus was not only on rock sounds, but also on folk music. On Friday evening, the doors opened at 7 p.m. and the yodelling club "Bärgfriede" Gstaad and the Schwyzerörgeli quartet "Bärgmoos" created a cosy atmosphere and attracted many locals.

The following day, the sounds were a lot rockier: from punk to metal and hardcore, everything was there. The five Swiss bands "Butter", "Fluffy Machine", "Huge Puppies", "Expellow" and "Uristier" heated up the audience and got the crowd dancing early in the evening. Even though the music was much louder, with over dimensioned guitar amplifiers, high tempos and rough vocals, the atmosphere was still very friendly. The musicians enjoyed their performances and mingled afterwards with the audience to make the most of a great evening.

Unconventional preparation and loyal visitors
Not only the visitors were satisfied, but also the organising committee drew a positive balance. According to OC President Dominik Marti, the two-year break was not noticeable in terms of numbers: "We have stable visitor numbers - our regular audience remains loyal to us, we like that. In addition, we noticed an increase in young visitors again this weekend, which also made us very happy." What made this year's event challenging was the unusually short time they spent getting the event up and running. "The fact that we organised the festival this year within a six-week period instead of nine months was certainly special and led to many last-minute decisions. However, our many years of experience came to good use, and we were able to deal with it quite well," Marti sums up.

Based on AvS/SOLVEI TRUMMER