Over 100 entries compete for the sixth edition of the Musika Bulegoa Sariak awards

More than a hundred artists, half of them women, will compete for the 2022 Musika Bulegoa Sariak awards. Organised by the Euskal Herriko Musika Bulego Elkartea (EHMBE), the awards are the most important recognition of Basque music. It’s now up to the jury to choose the winners, who will be announced at the awards gala on 17 May at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre.

A wide range of genres have been submitted to this new call, from pop-rock-urban to contemporary classical music, to folk, jazz and electronic music, among others. Basque is the main language of most of the entries (59%), although instrumental works are gaining ground (22%). The rest are either in Spanish (11%) or other languages.

It is now in the hands of a jury of professionals consisting up of musicians, journalists, music programmers, plus people from the world of education and culture. The jury will have to choose eight of the ten prize-winners. Etxepare Basque Institute will award a prize in recognition of an artist or group whose work has taken Basque music beyond our borders.

In addition, the EHMBE board of directors will award a special prize to a person or organisation related to musical activity in the Basque Country for the development of an outstanding project in areas such as education, awareness-raising or dissemination.