There's lots of music on the agenda in the upcoming weeks in the Nyon area. Let's hope the weather improves so we can enjoy all the concerts on offer! Sunday concerts by Roman Columns in Nyon Throughout the summer months there are Sunday concerts that take place from 11:00-13:30 by the Roman columns. Country, reggae and other music is on the line up this year. These free concerts are organised by the Association Places des Maronniers. There will be a buvette in place by the columns to purchase drinks and snacks. This Sunday the 13th July, Geneva band (Reggae, Ska, Dub) Rootstudy will be playing to the public. Learn to play an instrument If you are interested in learning how to play a musical instrument, the Conservatoire de Nyon offers summer courses from the 16th to 22nd August in singing, playing the saxophone, piano, flute and other instruments and more. See here Music EventsRive Jazzy Rive Jazzy is an annual fixture on the local calendar in which jazz music (traditional, modern, swing etc) is played outside (for free!) on Nyon's "terraces" every Friday and Saturday during the summer months (apart from during Paléo). This year, concerts run from the 4th July to the 16th August at the following venues: O' Les Terrasses, Place du Molard, Fontaine du Maitre Jaques and Place de Savoie (see the illustration below). Check the Rive Jazzy website for the full programme. Paléo schedule is now out The full schedule for all Paléo concerts is now out. Plan your days and meetings around the bands you want to see! See website here Still looking for tickets? Note: the official Paléo ticket market closes this Sunday 13th July!See hereLuna Classics - Nyon This prestigious classical music arts and dance festival is coming to Nyon from the 19th to the 31st August with some stellar names on the line up from Nigel Kennedy to Yuja Wang (see previous post with more info here) Variations Musicales Tannay Just a little further along the road from Nyon in the pretty village of Tannay, "Variations Musicales" will welcome various artists from the 24th to the 31st August. See website here

The Capitole Cinema in Nyon is offering five pairs of tickets to the next Monday Movie in English on the 14th July at 18:30. This film is the newly released Ken Loach film - "Jimmy's Hall". This film was selected to compete for the Palme D'or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. See trailer below. To be in with a chance of winning tickets, send an email with your full name, the name of the other person who will be accompanying you and the towns or villages that you both live in to info@capitole-nyon.ch Closing date Saturday 12th July 2014.

Caribana's reputation for it's fine weather was once again confirmed for part of the evening, as the festival opened its gates under the shining sun. The evening started with Swiss band Carrousel, made of Franco-Swiss couple Leonard Gogniat and Sophie Burande who met while busking in France. Their enthusiasm and great tunes, engaging lyrics rapidly gathered a fair amount of people enjoying a ride on their musical "merry-go-round" (Carrousel, in French!) under the sun. It's always quite impressive, specially for the first concert of the evening, to see the change from the few people sitting in front of the stage before it begins to the crowd that gathers after the first couple of minutes. The magic of music and festivals! Switching from the accordion to guitar, toy piano and even a music box, Carrousel gave a really nice concert, where you could see the band were enjoying themselves as much as the crowd, even under the high temperatures! Next up on the main stage, Selah Sue enchanted everyone with her powerful voice. Her own mix of soul, funk and R'n'B got people moving to the rhythm, as she went from more energetic songs to mellower soulful tunes, swapping her backing band for an acoustic guitar. The 26 year old Belgian showed she didn't need four other musicians to hold her own on the main stage, and her solo moments were really good. The advantage of Caribana is that you're never far from anything on the grounds, and you can sit down anywhere, have a bit to eat without missing out on the concerts. Traditional festival food stalls offer anything from Curries to Burgers, via Pizzas, Crèpes and Baked Potatoes. Whether you sip a beer at a table in front of the smaller stage, or enjoy a refreshing cocktail from "Miss Caipi's" bar with you feet in the (enjoyably cool) lake, the festival's setting allows you to relax and enjoy the great weather in a beautiful spot. It wasn't all sun and fun, and as Swedish cult band the Cardigans walked onto the main stage, the sky gradually got more and more menacing. Commenting on what looked like an impending storm, forecast for around 22:00 (quite accurately, too!), they joked they would try and up the tempo and play all their songs slightly faster to finish before the bad weather hit. The crowd was quite diverse, with quite a few people who had come with their children. The most enthusiastic hand wavers were all over 40, and probably fans of the band when they first started playing. The lead singer engaged with crowd, reminiscing of her 18 years of age when she first sang a particular song, for example. Playing to the setting sun, with a background of perilous clouds, the atmosphere was pretty great. An amused festival-goer pointed out to his friends, regarding the colours in the sky, that they seemed to have the best light effects technician in the world- indeed, Nature is hard to beat! Sadly, they lost against the weather, and as the wind gradually got stronger, and the first drops of rain started falling, some of the crowd wandered off towards the reassuring protection of the bars. Others, more intrepid, maybe hardcore fans or storm enthusiasts simply fished out the raincoats kindly handed out at the festival entrance, and continued, impervious to the (by now) massive amounts of water falling down on them. As the rain didn't look like it was going to stop, and actually got stronger and stronger, quite a few people started leaving the grounds to head back to their car or the bus and dryer spots.

Review by Jonas Parson The second night of Caribana turned out to be another very warm and successful evening (the second sold-out night in a row, tickets are still available for Friday and Saturday night) and the acts headlining that night attracted a completely different crowd to that of the night before. Trooper boots, spiked necklaces and heavy make-up were swapped for lighter, more colourful clothing, as the Marilyn Manson(read a quick review of his concert below) fan base was replaced by a younger audience come to see Bastille. The night wasn't all about lighter music and polite bands though, as DJ, producer and band leader Parov Stelar was one of Thursday's headlines. One of the major influences in the development of Electro Swing, the Parov Stelar Band were there to play their latest album, the Demon Diaries. Mesmerising vocals, edgy saxophone solos and heavy beats turned the front of the main stage into an open-air dance-floor. Playing both new songs and all the popular hits to a very elegant visual background(including a quote by German philosopher Immanuel Kant!), the band was the highlight of the evening. Before what looked like a full moon came out in the night sky, the grounds also vibrated to a lot of mostly electrified music. From Swiss duo Elvett, who played their own brand of acoustic-electro, complete with the enchanting voice of Lyn who kicked off the evening on the lake stage, to Metronomy who gradually brought together the crowd in front of the main stage. The English band, all very elegant in their matching outfits, delivered their dandyish mix of electro and pop with great class and loads of punch. London-based band Bastille were obviously one of the headlines of the evening, and the many teenagers on the grounds was a sure sign of that. The indie pop sensation whose hits combine catchy tunes and compelling choruses. Very polite, albeit slightly too well behaved, the band surely pleased the younger fans. Other bands included young Irish rock band the Strypes with their rather classic style of rock, and electro/deep house artist the Avener. The charm of the lakeside with the leafy grounds and warm night air were perfect to dance to the organic beats of the French musician. To all the fans of Ben l'Oncle Soul, but who can't make it to Caribana this evening, his concert will be live-streamed on the website. The concert starts at 19:30. Make-up, heavy metal and theatrics Late on Wednseday night, the crowd waiting in front of the main stage wore mostly black, with the usual spiked bracelets, big boots or torn clothing. All were waiting for one of the most infamous metal bands, Marilyn Manson (people tried to have his last two concerts in Switzerland banned, in 2005 and 2012, accusing him of Satanism and whatnot). The demographics were actually quite diverse, as Manson appeals a lot to younger fans of the genre.The heavily made-up singer, now well in his forties, delivered a show with his usual sense of theatrics, from the various microphones adorned with knives and knuckledusters to the smoke billowing up behind him. Playing songs from nearly all of his albums, including his great version of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (a personal favourite), Marilyn Manson delivered a good concert, although slightly lacking in punch.

If you are new to the area and would like to discover more about the local wines, or if you know the wines already and want a fun day out, the two "Caves Ouvertes" days on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of May between 10:00 and 18:00 are an ideal opportunity to taste and drink local wine. To take part, just purchase a "passport"at the information desk at Rolle, Gland or Morges railway station or at the first winery you visit. For just CHF 15 you receive a souvenir wine glass, wine tasting from a wide choice of wine cellars and a free ride that operate between the cellars and Morges railway station. There is a full timetable of the free buses here. See the routing here Also, on this Sunday it's the fabulous Navale parade in Rolle, this is when all the CGN "Belle Epoque" boats gather together and parade on the lake, ending in a grand choreography to music and the release of thousands of balloons into the air from the boats. For full details see site here

There was a mellow, soulful mood at Caribana at the start of day three with the early performance of Ben Oncle Soul on the main stage. There was also a very hot, humid atmosphere and it was only matter of time before dark clouds began to appear and the heavens opened. Many festival goers scrambled under cover wherever they could or went looking for the free raincoats handed out by one of the sponsors. It didn't dampen the mood for some and they carried on dancing in the rain. Although the storm continued for a while, it stayed off during part of Danakil's concert on the lake stage and he lifted the audience energy level up by an engaging performance, some of it to a background of lightning and thunder. Let's hope it stays dry for tonight's Caribana. There are still tickets available, on the line up on the main stage are Selah Sue, The Cardigans and Marlon Roudette. Click here for details

Nyon has a brand new recycling centre which was inaugurated a few weeks ago. This new centre has been designed to make the process of recycling more efficient and faster! You no longer have to make tricky manoeuvres to get in and out out of a busy car park to recycle your household goods. To gain entry to the new centre, you need to use the official key card (which was sent to all Nyon households - photo below) which opens an automatic barrier leading up a drive to the déchèterie. The address is Chemin des Marais 2, in the l'Asse area of town. Head off towards the Paléo shop and turn right just shortly afterwards. Opening times Monday - Friday 09:00 -12:00/ 13:30 - 18:00 Saturday 09:00 - 18:00 Cars line up and take their turn to recycle, however as you no longer need to separate glass bottles and containers into different colours ie: green, brown and clear glass, (you throw all the colours into one very big container) this speeds up the system considerably! There are recycling bins for vegetable oil and other oils You can recycle neon tubes, tools and some household goods Note - for really big household items (encombrants) there are special collection days that have been allocated throughout 2015. What is an encombrant? Essentially these are bulky items that are too big to go into a normal rubbish/trash bag, items that need to be crushed before incinerated. These tend to be objects such as rolls of carpet, mattresses, skis etc. Items that have a dimension greater than 60 cm. To see the dates of the special collection days in Nyon click here However some items are excluded from this special house collection: metal chairs, bikes, pans, etc and there is a recycling bin for them at the new centre. There is more information about recycling on the council website click here Electrical equipment must be returned to the point of sale. Below - Place to return used batteries Places for PET bottles and aluminium cans Place for garden waste Place for used clothes (these need to be tied up in a bag before placing them in the container). Clothes then go towards a charity which recycles them for future use. To find out more about this charity click here

The 4th July falls on a Saturday this year and to celebrate American Independence Day there will be an American "cinema soirée" at the Capitole Cinema in Nyon. The evening will begin with a guided visit at 19:30 (with commentary) to the new art exhibition at Nyon castle. This exhibition features the work of American marquetry artist, Brooklyn-based, Las Vegas native Alison Elizabeth Taylor. You can read more about this artist here Following a tour of the exhibition there will be an American cocktail served at the cinema followed by the screening of the classic 1987 film "Bagdad Café" (Out of Rosenheim) film. Ticket price - 20 CHF Reservations required email info@chateaudenyon.ch – 022 363 83 51 before Friday 27th June. See film trailer below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muyz8KnW_0I On the 4th and 5th July there will be a Stand Up Paddle competition in Crans-près Céligny called the Foolmoon SUP Classic 2015. Members of the public can enter this competition either in the shorter distance public race or they can enter the professional, more intense race on Sunday 5th Full details click here

The temperature has been in the late 30's in Nyon over the past few days and looks set to stay like this until Wednesday. The outdoor pool and the lake have been the place to be to cool off! Despite the soaring temperatures, the webmaster at Living in Nyon has been inside his office, tweaking the look of the site and making it much easier to read on a mobile phone. He has also introduced a weekly update feature, just register your name on the right hand side and you will receive a summary of the posts of that week (in addition to the quarterly newsletter). Alternatively, "like" us on Facebook to keep updated. We are now on Instagram too! The Living in Nyon column in English continues in La Côte newspaper throughout the summer, it is published on a Thursday and usually can be found on the back page of the first section. Even if you can't read much French, it's still worth picking up a copy of the paper, subscribing to it and reading it online to find out what's happening in your village or town. The comprehensive "agenda" section in the paper is worth looking at, and the flash updates sent to your smart phone give you the latest news. Swiss Insurance Questions and Beautiful Photos of Nyon to Purchase Living in Nyon couldn't exist without the support of its advertisers and we are delighted to announce two new advertisers: Generali and Christophe Fraser. Generali is an insurance company based right in the centre of Nyon - the company itself has around 2,000 employees in its headquarters in Adliswil and Nyon and has insurance agencies across the whole of Switzerland. If you are looking to renew any of your insurance policies or would like to take out any new policies, whether these are for savings, mortgage, pensions or other financial products, then email bertrandjean.daemers@generali.com Tel 078 638 9806. Bertrand will be happy to meet with you to answer your questions. Christophe Fraser is a Nyon based photographer who produces original black and white gelatine silver prints of the area along with other styles of photographs. These works of art would look great on a wall in a private home or boardroom or make an ideal gift. Take a look at more of his work here Photo above "Harbour" - copyright Christophe Fraser. Photo below, the photographer Thank you too to our existing advertisers. Falaque Number One on Trip Advisor in Nyon The restaurant Falaque will remain open for most of the summer (apart from a short break between July 20th and August 2nd). Falaque have built up a reputation for providing healthy and delicious food which you can eat in, take away or get delivered to your door and they have also been rated Number One on Trip Advisor out of all the restaurants in Nyon! Ecole Moser in the heart of Nyon Looking for a school in Nyon for your child? The Ecole Moser is a day school (from 08:00 to 17:00) and takes pupils from primary school to the Swiss Maturité with a French-English Bi-lingual Academic Programme. The school was founded in 1961 and covers the Lake Geneva area (and a large community in Berlin). The school services the educational needs of a growing international and multilingual community. Open to pupils aged 7 to 18 years old, from all backgrounds and religions, it is a non-religious school that promotes tolerance and mutual respect. Musical Tuition in Nyon and Morges If you are looking for musical tuition for you or your children, then look no further than the Conservatoire of West Vaud. The Nyon branch is set in a lovely building on the lake side in Nyon, holds regular classical and jazz concerts for the public. The school is running special summer musical tuition courses from the 15th to 21st August. From Pilates to Zumba to Swimming Classes and Health Consultations Clinique La Lignière in Gland is set in some lovely countryside, has an outpatient health centre with swimming pool, gym classes in Zumba, Pilates, classes in Nordic Walking and much more. It also has doctors on hand for consultation on a variety of health issues. The Clinique can be visited from 10:00 to 20:30. You can read more about the clinic here (in English)

On Saturday the 23rd May, the Eurovision Song Contest will celebrate its 60th anniversary and this year it will take place in Vienna, Austria. This Song Contest is one of the longest running television shows in the world and has an estimated viewing audience of 180 million! The first ever Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lugano, Switzerland, at the Teatro Kursaal, on the 24th of May, 1956. Celine Dion once represented Switzerland with her song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" and she went on to win the contest for the country in 1988. The Swiss entry to the contest for 2015 is Mélanie René with her song "My Time to Shine". Mélanie, originally from Mauritius, trained for seven years at a performing arts school at Les Atelier du Funambule in Nyon. Sadly, the *school no longer exists, but Mélanie has fond memories of the place and of the town. When she was competing in the first step of the contest to represent Switzerland, Nyon and its landscape featured heavily in the background in her promotional video. Living in Nyon caught up with Mélanie for a short interview before she headed off to Austria for her big moment. She will first perform at the Semi-Final 2 day on Thursday 21st May. If she passes this stage, she will be through to the final on Saturday night. Read on to find out why Mélanie elected Nyon to train in the performing arts and how she has fond memories of the town. "You chose to train at a theatre school in Nyon and spent many years there. Why did you chose this school and why Nyon?" Les Ateliers du Funambule was a pioneer school of performing arts in French Switzerland that helped young people develop their skills through sponsorships. It was a comprehensive training that included dance lessons as well as theatre, music theory, songwriting masterclasses, and singing lessons of course. I learnt so much from this school, and had so many opportunities that helped develop the singer songwriter that I am today. "What memories do you have of the town?" So many great ones, sunshine reflecting on the lake, the view from the castle, as well as the amazing pancakes next to the school and the lovely town where we used to go window shopping with the other students! After spending seven years in Nyon, 3 to 4 days a week, it feels like my home town somewhat! "Are you always composing new songs in your head?" Yes, everything inspires me! It may be a word, a scenery, someone or even a feeling. I always have a pen and paper in my bag to write down ideas. "Which other Swiss musicians/bands do you like to listen to?" I love Voxset (acapella group), Jyaleen, as well as Aya Waska, and Sebalter to name only a few. Can you reveal if there will be any kind of Swiss element to your performance at Eurovision? (dress etc?) I can't tell you much about the performance just yet I'm afraid, but I can tell you that everything we will bring onto the stage in Vienna will be representative of the song and it's message! Good luck Mélanie! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n_pXW3p74Q * The Funambule used to be situated in the basement of the Beau Rivage hotel.

Nyon Regional Tourist Office has recently launched a new tourist pass. For just 12 CHF, you can gain entry to nine museums in the area: The Château of Nyon, The Roman Museum, The Musée du Léman, The Château of Prangins, The Château of Coppet, the museum of old Coppet, The Agricultural Museum (Moulins de Chiblins), the Wine Museum in Mont-sur-Rolle and finally, the Basketball Association headquarters in Mies. Even if you only get to visit a couple of places on this list, this pass still turns out to be good value for money, and is a great idea for newcomers to the area, or residents with visitors over the summer months! The pass is valid for a week after the first visit. Jazz in Nyon and by the Lake - 3rd July to 29th August "Rive Jazzy" has started in Nyon. This is a series of free concerts held over Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at various venues near the lake or in the old town. Check out the programme here for July, and here for August. From Blues to Boogy Woogy to Latin Swing and more, there is a varied programme on offer. Meanwhile over in Morges - Check out the Saturday "folkloric" market from 09:00 -14:00 from the 11th July to August 8th. Artisanal products made in Switzerland on sale at this market. Food and traditional music in the centre of town too. Click here for more information. There will also be an artisanal market in St Cergue on the 18th July from 09:00 to 18:00 Click here

As it is the 40th anniversary of Paléo this year, there will be a big free party for the public in Nyon on Saturday the 18th July. The celebrations will begin from 10:30 onwards with street theatre in the centre of the town. At 17:30, there will be bars and food available in the Place Perdtemps area with more street theatre and then at 21:30 a big parade will leave the Place du Château ending up at the Place Perdtemps for one big final "spectacle". It was pretty impressive 10 years ago for the 30th anniversary as there were massive "flying fish" above the town during the parade (see photo below), so let's hope it's equally impressive this year. Still looking for tickets to Paléo? A reminder that the ticket market is open until the 12th July - click here Four Charging Stations for Electric Cars Nyon now has four charging stations for electric cars. Two of these are at the bottom of Place Perdtemps (see photo below) and the other two at the Rue de Rive 13. The charging stations are part of an extensive network of 460 across Switzerland. The electricity serving the Nyon charging stations is renewable (solar or hydro). During Paléo - six temporary charging stations will be made available for those taking their electric cars to the festival, with re charging made free for festival goers! Click here for full details.