At the end of October 2024, Fri-Son launched the “The Roof is on Fire!” campaign to overcome a critical financial situation. This campaign, which still runs until 1 November, has been a remarkable success, as Fri-Son states in a press release. The Fribourg-based club has raised over CHF 95,000 to date, which is 95% of its target. The funds raised through this initiative, combined with numerous donations, made it possible to offset the losses from 2022 and 2023, and to close 2024 with a balanced balance sheet.
At the same time, relations with public institutions have been strengthened, in particular through constructive dialogue and the joint development of an action plan. This represents an important step in recognising Fri-Son’s situation and the systemic challenges affecting the current music scene in Switzerland as a whole.
As the club states, Fri-Son presents itself as a solid structure, supported by its community and institutional partners. However, they also state that even with the solidarity campaign giving Fri-Son some breathing space and ticket sales for autumn 2025 are going well, the decline in bar consumption and rising building costs pose a major challenge to the long-term security of the association. Fri-Son is starting the new season with confidence, but is aware of the structural tasks ahead, the solution of which is closely linked to cooperation with its partners.
When planning its programme, Fri-Son takes financial constraints into account, but remains true to its artistic vision: to create a diverse, high-quality offering in which big names meet new discoveries and the local scene interacts with international artists. The autumn/winter 2025 season embodies this ambition with a diverse range of sounds—from trip hop to experimental music, rap, post-punk, and electronic hybrid forms.
This autumn, the focus is on up-and-coming artists, such as New York rapper billy woods, with an exclusive performance in Switzerland, and Argentine art punk trio Blanco Teta. Links to the regional scene are being strengthened, including through the launch of Glaascats’ new album, which features collaborations with the American psychedelic band La Luz.
Fri-Son also continues to play a central role in cultural collaborations, as demonstrated by the new edition of Noise Fest, which is being organised together with partners from Winterthur. It brings together influential voices from the Swiss independent scene, such as Camilla Sparksss and Fomies, with international acts like the British post-punk band DITZ. Find the full programme on Fri-Son’s website.
