April 9th, 2022 - As the summer approaches we can already hear different music genres playing on the sunny Croatian beaches, so it is a perfect time to check out some of the lesser-known Croatian music festivals that are scattered around the country.
Croatian music festivals have been piling up in the last decade and this is certainly a sign that Croats love music and are very passionate about it. The last two years have been a headache for the event industry and hopefully, we will not go back to that. There are many music festivals in Croatia, and those that are well known are quite easy to stumble upon. In this article, I will focus on those niche or boutique festivals that are hidden below the surface.
Source: Facebook/Goulash Disko
Goulash Disko is a global underground music festival that takes place in the city of Komiža, on the island Vis, one of the sunniest spots in Europe. The festival first started in 2013, and as they stress on their crowdfunding website, it is the first-ever crowdfunded festival in the world. From 14th to 18th of September 2022, Komiža will be the center for world-infused and electric music styles such as tropical grooves, oriental house, and Gypsydelic among many others. The festival is super small and limited to just 1000 visitors, so there is no time to hesitate if you want to become a Goulashian.
Source: Facebook/Moondance Festival
Moondance festival was established in 2013 by one of the pioneers of the Croatian electronic music scene Pero Fullhouse aka Skeptik. The festival is located in the middle age fortress Kamerlengo in the city of Trogir. This year they are preparing for their 9th edition which takes place from 29th to 31st of July and will include 2 festival nights, 2 boat parties, an afterparty, and workshops. Moondance is characterized by underground techno with international and regional artists. This year’s lineup is not yet released but some well know artists that have already performed on Moondance are Jeff Mills, Kink, Mr. C, Octave One, Silicon Soul, Rødhåd, and Dj Jock, Petar Dundov among many others.
Source: Facebook/Velvet Festival
Velvet is a festival of alternative music located on the beautiful island of Krk in the city of Punat. This year it will hold its 6th edition from 30th June to July 2nd. This festival combines concerts, parties, boat parties, design, architecture, and the spirit of the Mediterranean. This is a small festival, organized by a group of free-minded artists from the island of Krk and the region. With the upcoming 32 artists that are announced for this year, it is surely a place worth visiting.
Source:https://modemfestival.com/photo2021/
Memento Demento or by short MoDem is a festival that combines music, arts, architecture, and stunning visuals. It is located in Donje Primišlje between Slunj and Ogulin. The ambient of the festival is defined by the untouched forest and the river Mrežnica. There are three main stages called Hive, Swamp, and Seed each with its unique art sculptures, 3d video mapping, and stage designs. If you like psychedelic trance this is your place to visit.
Source: https://projectvojarna.com/photo/
Project Vojarna is a project organized by Šibenik music organization ECHO and Decoded Records that began in 2016 with their debut as part of the aforementioned Moondance festival. From there they moved into their current home in ex-military barracks (vojarna is Croatian for military barracks) in Šibenik. There is still no official announcement of this year’s events but since they managed to organize events in 2020 and 2021 when circumstances were quite harder there is no reason to doubt this year will be any different. Some astonishing artists from the techno and house genre that visited Vojarna are Fat Boy Slim, Boris Brejcha, and Monika Kruse among others. If you would like to experience the old-school warehouse party vibe be sure to keep an eye on their website for future updates.
There are many more small niche festivals and most of them have not yet made any announcements for the upcoming season of the music festivals which is understandable considering all that was going on in the last two years. Nevertheless, I will attach some of them with embedded links and locations so you can check them out.
Ferragosto Jam - Orahovačko jezero (Lake Orahovica)
Ego Free Festival - Split
SuperUho Festival – Primošten
Fibra Festival – Split
Gljevstock – Gljev near Sinj
Thrill Blues Festival – Trilj (1-3 July)
Split Blues Festival – Split
Korkyra Barouqe Festival – Korčula
Špancirfest – Varaždin ( 19-28 August)
Noise test festival – Ćiovo (11-24 August)
Martinska Šibenik is a summer festival season that takes place in Martinska bay near Šibenik and that combines 6 different festivals: Seasplash Festival (14-17 July), Slurp! Festival, Regius Festival, Kanal Fest, Membrain fest (4-7 August), and Blast fest.
STREET ART, SPORTS, AND MUSIC
In this section, I will take a moment to give tribute to three important festivals Xstatic, Graffiti na gradele, and Panonian Challenge.
Panonian Challenge is the largest extreme sports and urban culture festival in Southeast Europe. It is one of the most important events in Osijek with 20 years of tradition. It combines extreme sports competitions including scooter, BMX, skate, and inline disciplines with breakdance, graffiti art, and music concerts. This year it takes place from 15th to 19th of June.
Xstatic is a Split based festival that takes place in October. This festival combines street graffiti art music, breakdance, skateboarding, street basketball, and stand-up comedy. It is a perfect place to experience the urban culture of Split.
GNG is a festival that takes place in Bol on the island of Brač usually in the summer. It is an international graffiti art festival that gathers graffiti artists, designers, and musicians. For the last two years, the festival was not able to appear in its full form for obvious reasons. Hopefully this year we will see their comeback stronger than ever, but for now, no official statements are made. They are currently involved in many graffiti art projects around Croatia.
A wide variety of Croatian music festivals that span across the country and cover different genres certainly offer something for everyone. This season we have an opportunity to pay the tribute to all the artists, organizers, designers, and other stakeholders that make up this industry and consequently helping it get back on its feet.
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