On September 11, 2026, Gotthard will play the first concert at the new AREON Eventhalle in Chur. To kick off the season at the Obere Au, Graubünden’s new venue is bringing the country’s most successful rock band to the stage.
If you’re looking to inaugurate a venue in Switzerland, you could hardly ask for a bigger name. Gotthard has been performing on stages around the world for over 30 years, has sold more than three million albums, and has topped the Swiss charts 17 times. Songs like “Lift U Up,” “One Life One Soul,” and “Heaven” have long been part of the country’s collective memory.
The band was founded in the early 1990s in Lugano. Singer Steve Lee and guitarist Leo Leoni led Gotthard from rehearsal spaces in Ticino to the major venues of Europe. After Lee’s death in a motorcycle accident in October 2010, the band faced the question of whether to continue at all. They did continue: With Swiss-Australian singer Nic Maeder on vocals, Gotthard reclaimed the top of the charts album after album.
Today, in addition to Maeder and Leoni, the band also features guitarist Freddy Scherer, bassist Marc Lynn, and drummer Flavio Mezzodi. The band’s recent history shows that they haven’t lost any of their passion for playing: The album “Stereo Crush” debuted directly at No. 1 on the Swiss charts in March 2025, followed by the EP “More Stereo Crush” in March 2026. That summer, the band wrote two more songs for FC Lugano. There’s no sign of retirement.
The new venue in Obere Au offers approximately 3,200 square meters of event space and a 980-square-meter foyer, built in a striking wooden structure. Concerts, conventions, and trade shows of this scale have previously been possible in Chur only to a limited extent. “Kicking things off with Gotthard sends a strong signal. AREON is set to become a place where special live experiences are possible and new momentum is generated for Chur as an event destination,” says Managing Director Andres Hartmann.
After the opening concert, the events will follow in quick succession: On December 11, 2026, Stubete Gäng will perform at AREON, followed by BLISS in the fall of 2027. Starting in September, Chur will have a new venue for big nights out. And Gotthard is writing the first chapter.