The Second Day: Female Sound Domination and Street Art Magic

The domination of female sound on the Main Stage and the Small Stage, and the magic of street art among the baroque houses of the Lower Town marked the program of the second evening of the Street Musicians Festival – Gradić Fest. Two interesting events at the center PROSTOR, the conference “Use of Heritage” and the performance by the Quartet Bilitis, made the second day of this year’s festival a memorable one, giving thousands of visitors exactly what they came to see and what makes them truly love this festival.

Sara Renar, a charismatic artist from Zagreb, surrounded with numerous gadgets and just one accompanying musician, filled the hollow next to the Powder Mill “Josif” with the effective mix of warm and energetic “female” poetry and a seductive music background, while her true power was expressed in the occasional moments when her red Gibson guitar “exploded” under the waves of overwhelming emotions. Urban Americana is also Ana Avramov’s main “weapon”, and now she has a considerate fan base on both sides of the Danube. Ana Ćurčin, accompanied by her band The Changes, justified her international reputation and the status of Gradić Fest’s headliner. After midnight, the fans of the underground music scene had the opportunity to enjoy a spectacular performance by the Austrian band Petra und der Wolf from, and a lively performance by the band Svemirko from Zagreb, whose statement that they “have never played in front of a bigger audience” truly reflects the atmosphere at Gradić Fest.

If the program segments on the stages around the Belgrade Gate can be said to belong to the domain of modern music art, then the happenings on the streets of the Lower Town can rightly be attributed the epithet of true street spectacles. It is impossible to characterize differently the performances by the Italian wizards Bandakadabra, whose energy awakens, lures and hypnotizes every passer-by. A similar feedback was what the drum master Zeroelectrodrum received, as well as Mark Di Giuseppe, one-man band inspired by the Ramones’ greatest hits, to the general pleasure of the audience. Goran Tomić Trio, whose music is reminiscent of flamenco sound, and Drunkards, the “Irishmen” from Novi Sad, also demonstrated interesting sound concepts, while the teenage band Soundcheck Orchestra confirmed that the new generations are creating good sounds, on which the future of the local music scene can rely.

The fans of modern theatre had many reasons for joy when Reflektor teatar performed their excellent play “Smrt fašizmu – O Ribarima i Slobodi!”, as well as the cinema fans, whose corner, Gradić Cinema, located at the beginning of the Štrosmajerova Street, offered a great selection of documentaries, including Kosta Ristić’s film and Mila Turajlić’s film. Classical music enlivened PROSTOR’s curved ceilings during the performance by the Quartet Bilitis, an audio-visual interpretation of “Different Trains”, a complex piece written by the American composer Steve Reich.

The last evening of Gradić Fest is offering the visitors a program full of new attractions. The leading music attractions are The Wackids, hard rockers playing the children’s instruments, Sana Garić, Moussaka and MKDSL. Another hit theatre play by Reflektor teatar, “Muškarčine”, must not be missed, and a true symphonic orchestra of street musicians, conducted by Aleksandar Carić, will perform their original pieces inspired by the story of Pinocchio on the Main Stage, at 7 p.m.