The blues in Bellinzona was born within the walls of the legendary Grotto Pasinetti, in the mid-1980s.
The Afro-American music concerts were offered for the first time in Ticino in a version open air in Government Square in 1989, with the first edition of Piazza Blues Bellinzona.

The world's greatest blues artists performed in the shadow of the Castelli:
B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Gary Moore, Luther Allison, Bo Diddley, Bobby Rush, Koko Taylor, Ike Turner, Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Joe Bonamassa, Otis Rush, Robert Cray... just to name a few!

In 2010, the Blues Foundation of Memphis presented the Piazza Blues Festival in Bellinzona with the prestigious award 'KBA - Keeping the Blues Alive Award' as the best blues festival in Europe.

After 22 editions, the festival died out in 2010, but the baton passed to the Coopaso cooperativewhich was created to give continuity to live music after the closure of the legendary Grotto Pasinetti.

Coopaso, thanks to the support of over 400 members and the commitment of a dozen volunteers, has organised concerts of various kinds in various venues in the Bellinzona region for five years.

In 2015, the working group decided to revive the festival: initially under the name of Bellinzona Blues Sessionsthen, thanks to great success, the name became Bellinzona Blues Festivalreturning to its historic location in Government Square.

In 2019, at the 5th edition of the renewed festival, the 30th anniversary of the blues in Bellinzonaan extraordinary achievement!

Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Coopaso was disbanded.
Running costs and the uncertainty of continuity led to the festival lights being turned off.

Today, after five years of waiting, we are ready to start againbringing to Bellinzona a new festival dedicated to the blues and its influences on modern music.
Since the 1920s, the blues have shaped genres such as jazz, rock, soul and hip hop, inspiring artists all over the world.
Even today, the blues is a fundamental basis for music and influences ever-evolving styles, lyrics and instrumental techniques.

The commitment of this new team is to maintain the quality and welcome that have characterised the festival for 30 years, giving our audience unforgettable momentsjust as it has always been.

'The Blues is back in Town' is the historic slogan, coined many years ago and still incredibly relevant today.
We are enormously grateful for your support right now: your participation is the fuel for our organisational engine.

Once again, 25 July 2025 will be remembered as the beginning of a new and exciting adventure!