GODUM Awards 2026: Lale Tosic Gets Lifetime Achievement
The Association of Jazz, Pop and Rock Musicians of Serbia has named its laureates: Galija, Maksim Kocetov and Dejan Cukic, while drummer Lazar Tosic receives the lifetime achievement award.
“I like to say that I came onto the scene in 1953. Many things have changed since then,” said jazz drummer Lazar Lale Tosic. After more than seven decades in music, he will receive the lifetime achievement award at the GODUM Awards 2026, presented by the Association of Jazz, Pop and Rock Musicians of Serbia on Wednesday, October 14.
The names of this year’s winners were announced on October 8. Alongside Tosic, the list includes a rock band, a jazz musician and a pop performer.
When and where are the GODUM Awards presented?
The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Vuk Cultural Center in Belgrade. Admission is free for anyone interested, and a cocktail reception follows the ceremony. The Big Band of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) will perform songs by this year’s laureates on stage.
Who are this year’s laureates?
The 2026 awards go to:
- rock band Galija
- jazz musician Maksim Kocetov
- pop performer Dejan Cukic
In addition to the GODUM Awards, SOKOJ and the Organization for Collective Rights of Performers (PI) will present special recognitions for the most-broadcast songs of 2026. Charters for special contributions to the music and cultural scene will also be awarded, but the names of the recipients have not been announced yet.
Who is Lazar Lale Tosic?
He started playing drums at 12 and soon committed to jazz. He came to Belgrade from Kraljevo in 1959 and became one of the recognizable names of the domestic jazz scene. He played in the RTS Jazz Orchestra, and in 1987 he founded the Lazar Tosic Quintet.
In the 1990s, when the jazz scene survived under difficult circumstances, he was one of its most persistent figures. At the Plato club he organized numerous jam sessions that featured world-famous musicians as well.
Tosic himself, in a statement carried by Danas, ties his beginnings to 1953, and according to the same source he arrived in Belgrade in 1959.
Who has received the lifetime achievement award so far?
The GODUM Awards have been presented since 2018 for outstanding achievements in jazz, pop and rock music. Previous lifetime achievement recipients include:
- Dusko Gojkovic
- Djordje Marjanovic
- YU Grupa
- Kornelije Kovac
- Radomir Mihailovic Tocak
- Jovan Maljokovic
- Bisera Veletanlic
- Stjepko Gut
- Momcilo Bajagic Bajaga
- Leo Martin
This year’s recognition for Lazar Lale Tosic continues that line.
