Albert Collins, B.B. King, Dr. John, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells, Luther Allison, Marla Glen, The Blues Brothers Band, Nina Simone, Buddy Guy und Etta James were the blues-names during the first 14 years of our festival’s history. Difficult negotiations bore fruit: power blues and charming soul were bound to happen when the Robert Cray Band, which had last performed at the St. Jakob’s stadium in Basel, played at the comparatively intimate Messe Basel in 1999.  

More than a supporting act was Olu Dara, the Montreux-Blues discovery of the year 1999.