THE BIG BILL BROONZY 2023 AWARD GOES TO MIQUEL ABELLA
MIQUEL ABELLA, a great blues lover, has been contributing for years to the promote this music.
He produced a radio show in the 80s, AIXÒ ÉS BLUES (which means “This is blues”) and later NASCUT AMB EL BLUES (Born with the blues), for 18 years and when the blues was a practically unknown. Miquel Abella also worked for the friendship of the first blues artists in Spanish and Europe.
Between 1989 and 2003 he was the promoter and director of the NITS DE MÚSICA A CAN GINESTAR festival in Sant Just Desvern (Barcelona), booking international artists such as Big Jack Johnson, Corey Harris, Eric Bibb, Guy Davis, Johnny Mars, Al Copley, Guitar Crusher, Wild Bill Davis, Spanky Wilson, Lou Benett, Raphaël Phaÿs, Loti Lewis, Donald Harrison, Alvin Queen, Fruteland Jackson, Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Eddie Kirkland, Keith Dunn, etc. or national artists such as the Caledonia Blues Band, Harmonica Coixa Blues Band, Big Mama & The Blues Messengers, Soul Family, Tandoori Lenoir, etc. Here we show you some of the programs, courtesy of Miquel Abella himself.
Miquel Abella managed the Blues section of the Fundación La Caixa Media Library, which was located in the CaixaForum in Barcelona since 2002. Miquel created an online “Blues Itinerary” for users. They could make inquiries about all the records and books available at the Media Library, as well as about the artists, songs, and information on each performer. Unfortunately, the CaixaForum Media Library no longer exists, nor can you consult the Blues Itinerary prepared by Miquel Abella, but you can obtain the poster that he prepared later, detailing a fabulous squema about the History of Blues, and which was published on paper with the support of the SBB, Bad Music and the Blues Fund of Tecla Sala. Here you can get the pdf, which is available on the SBB website:
https://societatbluesbarcelona.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Historia_del_Blues.pdf
Miquel Abella had been working with the Tecla Sala Library’s team to consolidate the Blues Fund Collection, taking care of acquiring material for five years, with the support of the Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council and the mediation of the SBB. He currently continues to be involved with the Blues Fund by collaborating sporadically with the library staff, on the publication of the “Blues a Fons” magazine.
Miquel was a Member of the SBB Board for a few years, and also Member of the Advisory Council of the EBC selection process in Spain, Member of the Jury or the EBC Blues Contest, and also has participated in many activities promoted by our association.
For all this and much more, the SBB wants to hand the 2023 Big Bill Broonzy Award to Miquel Abella for all these years of involvement, commitment and passion for the blues. Miquel has always dedicated efforts to promote the blues anonymously, by favoring camaraderie between artists and the love for the blues. For this reason, we invite you to join him on St George’s day, April 23, 2023, at the Gardens of Can Sumarro in Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona-Spain), during the 10th Anniversary of the PIB, at 5:30 p.m., in the act where he will receive the SBB recognition in the form of the Big Bill Broonzy Award 2023.
