Blues Rules Crissier Festival

What Blues Rules Crissier Festival does

Blues Rules Crissier Festival is a Swiss non-profit annual music festival organized by Association Blues en Scène, held at the Château de Crissier near Lausanne, Switzerland. Founded in 2008 at the conceptual level (first edition in 2010) by Festival Coordinator Vincent Delsupexhe and organizer Thomas Lécuyer, the festival specializes in authentic North Mississippi Hill Country blues and related Americana, billing itself as 'Where the Mississippi meets the Leman Lake' (Crississippi). It has run 16 editions through 2026, surviving the 2020 COVID cancellation and a 2021 programming disruption, with attendance scaling from ~1,000 daily spectators in 2016 to ~1,500 festival-goers over the 2017 edition.

The festival's product is a single, unified two-day live-music event built around a curated artist lineup drawn primarily from Mississippi (via a long-standing partnership with the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic organized by Kenny and Sara Brown) and supplemented by Swiss acts selected through the Tremplin Blues Suisse competition, run annually since 2019. Supporting sub-products include single-day and two-day passes priced at 50–55 CHF and 80–90 CHF respectively (children under 14 free, reduced rates for ages 14–18), DJ vinyl sets bridging live performances, and a 2024-introduced vinyl pressing prize through partner La Manufacture de Vinyles. Marketing is conducted through the official WordPress website, email newsletter, Facebook event pages, and broad earned media coverage from Swiss press and radio (Le Matin, Le Temps, 24 Heures, RTS stations). There is no proprietary technology; the underlying platform is a standard content-managed website.

The business model is event-driven non-profit: ticket sales form the primary revenue stream, supplemented by recurring sponsorship and in-kind partnerships — most notably Brasserie Dr. Gab's (Tremplin venue and prize partner since 2021), FNAC (Tremplin partner 2019–2020), and La Manufacture de Vinyles (2024). Distribution occurs via the official website and third-party platform Petzi.ch. Operations are delivered by 5 paid staff and 60–80 volunteers per edition, with no disclosed parent company, external investment, or funding rounds; governance rests with Association Blues en Scène and its founders.

Name

Blues Rules Crissier Festival

Legal name

Association Blues en Scène

Website

https://blues-rules.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blues Rules Crissier Festival is a Swiss non-profit annual blues music festival at Château de Crissier, featuring North Mississippi Hill Country artists and Swiss bands via the Tremplin competition, serving roughly 1,500 attendees per edition with a volunteer-led operating model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festival

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Festival Organizers & Promoters (MPAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH)

Keywords

• Blues music festival
• Live music events
• Music festival production
• Band competition events
• Mississippi Hill Country blues

Headquarters

HQ city

Crissier

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The festival generates revenue primarily through ticket sales, offering single-day passes and two-day passes for attendees. Children under 14 enter free, and reduced prices are available for ages 14-18.
2. Sponsorship and Partnerships: The festival maintains partnerships with sponsors including Dr. Gab's brewery and FNAC for the Tremplin competition, which may provide additional revenue or in-kind support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Blues Rules Crissier Festival is an annual two-day blues music festival held at the historic Château de Crissier near Lausanne, Switzerland. It features live performances by international artists (especially from the North Mississippi Hill Country) and Swiss blues bands, complemented by the Tremplin competition for emerging Swiss acts, DJ vinyl sets, food and beverage service, and family-friendly amenities. Ticket passes (1-day and 2-day) are sold to individual attendees, supported by sponsors such as Brasserie Dr. Gab's.

Product overview

Blues Rules Crissier Festival is a single, unified annual event product centered around a two-day blues music festival held at Château de Crissier near Lausanne, Switzerland. The core offering includes live programming of American blues artists (particularly from Mississippi's Hill Country) and Swiss bands, complemented by a Tremplin competition module that provides emerging Swiss acts performance opportunities. Additional products include ticket passes (1-day and 2-day), DJ vinyl sets between live performances, and a streaming/voting system for the Tremplin competition. The festival has operated since 2010 with editions documented through 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blues Rules Crissier Festival Annual blues music festival held at Château de Crissier in Lausanne, Switzerland, featuring American (particularly North Mississippi Hill Country) and Swiss blues artists. The festival, established in 2010, includes live performances, a Swiss band competition (Tremplin), food and beverage service, family-friendly amenities, and various festival venues.
• Tremplin Blues Rules Annual competition for Swiss blues bands to win a performance slot at the Blues Rules Crissier Festival. Winners receive a 45-minute stage slot, All-Access passes, a 250 CHF per musician cachet, and meals/drinks during the festival. Organized in partnership with Dr. Gab's brewery (since 2021) and previously FNAC (2019-2020).
• Festival Passes (1-Day and 2-Day) Ticket passes for attending the Blues Rules Crissier Festival: single-day passes (50-55 CHF) and two-day passes (80-90 CHF), with free entry for children under 14 and reduced rates for ages 14-18.

Quantifiable outcome

• The festival has run successfully for 16 editions since 2010, attracting 1500+ festival-goers per edition.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dr. Gab's (Brasserie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Gab's brewery, founded in 2001 in Épalinges (moved to Puidoux), has been a key partner for the Tremplin competition since 2021. The partnership provides a platform for Swiss blues bands to compete for festival placement. The Tremplin events are held at the Dr. Gab's venue in Puidoux, and consolation prizes are provided by the brewery.
• FNACminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFNAC served as a partner for the Tremplin competition in 2019 and 2020, with preliminary rounds held at the FNAC Lausanne location. FNAC provided venue space and gift cards as prizes for runner-up bands.
• La Manufacture de VinylesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership initiated in 2024 to offer vinyl pressing services. The winning band of the 2024 Tremplin received a 33 RPM vinyl pressing (100 copies) as part of their prize.
• Association Blues en ScènecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe organizing association behind the Blues Rules Crissier Festival. Manages festival operations, volunteer coordination, and payments for artists and masterclass instructors.
• North Mississippi Hill Country PicniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe sister festival in Mississippi organized by Kenny and Sara Brown. The concept for Blues Rules was born at this festival in 2008. The two festivals collaborate to bring North Mississippi Hill Country blues artists to Europe and maintain ongoing artistic exchange.
• Swiss Media PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVarious Swiss media outlets provide press coverage including newspapers (Le Matin, Le Temps, 24 Heures, l'Hebdo, Lausanne Cités, Le Courrier, La Liberté), online publications (Daily Rock, Jazztime), television (La Télé), and radio stations (La 1ère, Espace 2, Couleur 3, Option Musiques, Rouge FM).
• Cave du Bleu (Lausanne)minorOthersConcert venue in Lausanne that hosted the 2024 Tremplin competition, providing space for Swiss band performances and judging.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Rahway Blues Festival (or comparable small US blues event): Comparison placeholder for similarly-sized North American Hill Country/niche blues events that share audience demographics. A useful reference for what Blues Rules could resemble at maturity if it were US-based.

Others

• European Blues Challenge / European Blues Union: Umbrella organization supporting European blues festivals and bands. Tangentially related as ecosystem infrastructure that Blues Rules' Tremplin competition connects into.

Regional players

• Luzern Blues Festival (Switzerland): Switzerland-based blues festival operating in the same domestic market. Competes for a portion of the same Swiss blues audience and serves as the closest geographic competitor within Switzerland.

Broad incumbents

• Chicago Blues Festival: The largest free blues festival in the world, organized by the City of Chicago. Operates in the same broad blues category at much greater scale and is a benchmark for what a fully scaled blues festival looks like.

Direct peers

• Blues Passions (Cognac, France): Annual French blues festival with a comparable European-market blues positioning, ticketed passes, and a mix of American headliners and emerging artists. Similar scale and audience demographic to Blues Rules Crissier.
• North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic: The sister festival whose 2008 visit inspired Blues Rules; both are niche Hill Country blues events featuring the same family of Mississippi artists. Programming, audience ethos, and artist roster overlap heavily, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Notodden Blues Festival (Norway): One of Europe's premier blues festivals, featuring international American blues artists in a European setting. Operates at a larger scale but shares the same European blues-festival category and target audience as Blues Rules.
• Moulin Blues (Ospel, Netherlands): Long-running small-scale European blues festival (since 1987) focused on authentic blues in an intimate venue. Comparable in niche positioning, size (low-thousands attendees), and community-volunteer model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dontbesoevil
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCz8GvUVN1bL6Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/1492795970776138
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blues-rules-crissier-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Blues Rules Crissier Festival