Culture and Concerts; Songs of the Year 2024

Happy New Year, everyone! We had loads of culture and concerts to talk about on this first show of 2025, with Basel starting the year off strong with the Museums Night on January 17. Be sure to check out the many museums open until 2 am in the tri-border region. If you're spending the month abstaining from alcohol for Dry January, Mövenpick is hosting an alcohol-free wine tasting on January 17.

If you're looking for other pharmaceutical flavours, the Pharmaziemuseum der Universität Basel is hosting an exhibition all about the history of the mortar – that heavy thing used to crush, grind, and mix everything from medicine to spices. It's also time again for the Jugendbücherschiff (that's the youth book fair on a boat if you're still working on compound words in German).

Further afield, the Murten Light Festival runs from January 15 to 26. Remember 1985? Applying gallons of hairspray while "We Built This City" blared on the radio? Well that year saw another monumental musical event – the foundation of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. The group is marking its 40th anniversary with a tour, and they're coming to Burghof Lörrach on January 15. 

There are further concerts aplenty coming up this year – get your tickets now for Snow Patrol on February 1, Bullet for my Valentine & Trivium on February 5, Archive on February 19 and 20, and Sabrina Carpenter on March 27.

The English Show's favourite songs of 2024 highlight a blend of genres, from pop to indie to metal. We loved listening to both old favourites as well as newcomers in 2024. On this week's show, we played:

Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe

Vampire Weekend - Prep-School Gangsters

Jack White - Bombing Out

Snow Patrol - Your Heart Home

Baby Rose - One Last Dance

Dua Lipa - Training Season

Glass Animals - A Tear In Space (Airlock)

Olivia Rodrigo - obsessed

Zeal and Ardor - Clawing Out