COMMITTED TO THE BLUES
Welcome to the website of the jury of the Swiss Blues Awards. Here you will find all information about the award, as well as the results of all past nominations and awards.
The Swiss Blues Award was established in 2003 by the Bluesfestival Basel and honours people or institutions in Switzerland who have made an extraordinary contribution to the blues scene as artists or promoters. The choice is made by an independent jury of experts.
.The nominees for the Swiss Blues Award 2025 have been selected.
Marco Piazzalonga
Advance ticket sales are underway. At the beginning of February 2025, the Swiss Blues Society and the Mühle Hunziken in Rubigen will be organizing the Blues Music Awards Switzerland for the first time.
The Blues Music Awards Switzerland were created to recognize outstanding achievements by artists, promoters and supporters of the blues on a broader scale. It can be awarded in the following categories: Blues Artist of the Year*, Songwriter/Composer of the Year, Blues Instrumentalist of the Year, Blues Band of the Year*, Blues Album of the Year*, Emerging Act of the Year, Blues Festival or Club/Venue of the Year*, Blues Promoter of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award.
The proven Swiss Blues Award, which was established years ago under the patronage of the Blues Festival Basel, will also be integrated, so that in future the highest blues awards in our country will be united under the umbrella of the Swiss Blues Society.
The winner of an award will be revealed at the event itself (Saturday, February 8, 2025) at the Mühle Hunziken. Nominated for the Blues Artist of the Year are: Federico Albertoni, Manu Hartmann and Lucky Wüthrich.
- Federico Albertoni
- Manu Hartmann
- Lucky Wüthrich
Justina Lee Brown wins the Swiss Blues Award 2024
Blues Festival Basel is delighted to announce that the legendary Swiss Blues Awards 2024 will be presented to a worthy winner on Friday evening, 19 April 2024 at Volkshaus Basel. This fills us with great joy and pride.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR'S AWARD WINNER JUSTINA LEE BROWN!
Thanks to her music, Justina Lee Brown has managed to leave behind her hard life as a street kid in the ghetto of Lagos, Nigeria. With blues, soul, funk and lots of African influences, Justina creates an infectious, independent sound that allows her to emotionally express her very personal lyrics. She won the Swiss Blues Challenge with her Swiss band in 2019, became a crowd favourite at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January 2020 and reached the semi-finals, and topped these successes in May 2022 with an outstanding second place at the European Blues Summit in Malmö, Sweden. On her impressive new album "Lost Child", Justina Lee Brown reveals that she not only knows how to set off musical fireworks on stage.
Read more: Justina Lee Brown wins the Swiss Blues Award 2024
Chris Lange receives the Swiss Blues Lifetime Achievement Award
CHRIS LANGE - THE FIRST SWISS BLUESMAN
Chris Lange was born in Zurich on 4 April 1942 and died on 7 April 2023, making him one of the first European musicians to pick up an electric guitar. He was therefore one of the first pioneers of the blues in Europe and Switzerland and was instrumental in promoting its spread. Chris Lange played guitar, keyboards, percussion and xylophone.
He founded the Chris Lange Rhythm and Blues Combo at the end of the 1950s. He later played in numerous formations in the 1960s, including Driving Wheel, Freeway 75 and The Baracudas, all of which contributed to the development and spread of the blues in Switzerland.
In 1961, he recorded an LP for the Storyville label in Copenhagen together with the pianist Champion Jack Dupree, who had settled in Zurich. Fun fact: It was only 5 years later that the American bluesman recorded albums with Eric Clapton and John Mayall.
He had less talent for shows, which is why he was somewhat forgotten, although he made many recordings at home and continued to champion the blues until the end. It was not until 2017 that he appeared again as a guest with the Swiss Blues Legends at their premiere at the Bluesfestival Baden.
The Bluesfestival Basel is proud to honour him posthumously with a lifetime achievement award.
