One of the major pioneers of this festival was Uzeyir Hajibeyov who was a People's Artist of the USSR in 1938.
Hajibeyov dedicated his life to preserve the traditional music of Azerbaijan.
Another pioneer was Rashid Behbudov, also the winner of People's Artist of the USSR, who participated in every festival.
The Mugham Festival was founded and is traditionally celebrated in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha.
Because of the conflict in the Karabakh region, Shusha has been occupied by Armenian forces since 1992 and all Azeris have fled the city.