Since its beginning in 1995, the aim of the Lucerne Blues Festival has been to promote and support the Blues culture in Europe. It has certainly met its objective inasmuch as it is now recognized as one of the premier Blues festivals in the world. Its supporting program is spread out over a week and includes concerts in outlying rural areas and Blues in the Schools performances. But there are two things that make this non-profit, all volunteer, festival so deserving of international acclaim: the first is the quality of the programming, whether it be the biggest names in the Blues, its most authentic purveyors from the jukes of Mississippi or the small clubs of Chicago or the almost-unheard-of presence of bands accompanied by full horn sections; the second is the hospitality, both the fun of hanging with the hands-on festival committee members or the thankfulness that comes with five-star accommodations and fully-catered meals. Lucerne makes Blues musicians feel like they are somebody.
