Competition results: From the jaw harp and guitar to electronics and fire dancing

The Art Committee and the Citizen Council Choose Competition Winners for Participation on the Festival

Beside the already announced stars of the festival Phat Cat Swinger and Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra, the 15th Street Musicians Festival will feature performances from 14 artists and art groups, which the Festival’s judging panel chose from 100 applicants on this years open call.

The Art Committee and Citizen Council decided on this year’s Street Musicians Festival appearances by the next performers:

* Balkan Weirdos, from Zrenjanin, who will introduce the festival’s audience to the greatest smallest instrument – the jaw harp, becoming especially popular in our country after the classic film Who’s Singin’ Over There?;

* Don’t Touch Anything, three-man live electronic band from Novi Sad that just might turn the Street Musicians Festival, as the members of the Art Committee notices, into a open-air discotheque;

* DrvoTruo, acoustic trio from Kikinda (two guitars, a violin and all vocals), prone to jazz, but that summer, swing kind; they will offer us their unusual perspective on the great foreign pop and rock hits;

* Duo Nomadiko, performing music of the Russian Roma, music that holds to strong, flaming emotions, but also to inner-rebellion and melancholy; if you like the film Queen of the Gypsies you will surely like Neda and Ivan from Novi Sad;
* Dušana Stefanović, from Gornji Milanovac, Serbia, is just another girl next door with a guitar, but one who will woo us with her songs in English, French and Italian;
* HAOS žongleri, are Novi Sad’s own street performers, setting out on a mission to light up the city with fire and ice; offering us a program from fire dancing (…) to dance moves impossible not to boogie to;

* InSession, five-strong group from Maribor in Slovenia arrive to the Festival rich in experience of street performing across Italy, Germany, Holland and Belgium, playing pop and rock, with a capital Indie in front;
* INTU, is another foreign musical squad on this year’s Street Musicians Festival; this threesome arrives to us from Pécs in Hungary and mean to perform amazing world and ambient music;
* Kezz, is the stage name of singer-songwriter from Kikinda Tamara Ristić; and she will sing, inspired by traditional music from the Balkans, all original, all modern, intended for the audience who likes that, so called, alternative pop;

* Kralj Čačka, (King of Čačak) that is Nenad Marić, coming to the Street Musicians Festival with the reputation of the best or at least the most exciting home-grown songwriter; the Serbian Tom Waits has for years been the nickname of this talented Čačak man from Belgrade;

* Lepi Jova, is the name of the Novi Sad band that blend jazz, rock and electronic music with original folk music from the Balkans; not only that but they possess virtuosos on fifes, violin, clarinet, saxophone, bongos…;

* Nylon Club, are a young gypsy jazz trio from Banja Luka, nothing more needs be said than their idol is the legendary Django Reinhardt;

* Vuk Muškinja from Sremska Mitrovica is a painter who loves to perform in the street; a great guitar player and singer; his repertoire covers tracks in Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, Portuguese…;
* Wooden Ambulance, is the numerous attraction from Subotica led by Goran Grubišić, drummer for the band Ana Never; they are in possession of several acclaimed albums and a loyal home-grown Americana audience.

The Street Musicians Festival has, as it did in previous years, called upon all individuals, bands and troupes from the domains of music, dance, performance and pantomime, as well as clowns, jugglers, actors and other artists who see themselves as having the street spirit and a wish to become a part of the great family of participants who performed during the previous fourteen festival editions. During four moths, the open call was answered by about a hundred artists and art groups from home and abroad, mostly musicians. Some of them applied with an experienced professional sound, and some of them armed with the charm of amateurism. Both, it was quickly noticed, wanted with all their heart to be part of the program which the citizens of Novi Sad will have an opportunity to follow in the City Center at beginning of September of this year.

This year’s open call for participation on the Street Musicians Festival was unique as it offered artists three categories for application: covered travel, accommodation costs and performance fee, covered accommodations, and with a reserved performance spot. This novelty was introduced with a wish to synchronize the Festival with the experiences and trends of similar events in Europe and the world. On applying, the artists chose a category which suited them, and, of course, sent in their biographies and promo materials. The Art Committee, composed of Zlatomir Gajić, Jovan Marjanović, Jana Katić and Predrag Đuran, in the end, made the selection based on the Festival’s concept.

The second innovation for this year includes the formation of the Street Musicians Festival’s Citizen Council, made up of some really interesting and imaginative citizens of Novi Sad, who along with the Art Committee chose the performers for this year’s Festival.

This year’s 15th edition of the Street Musicians Festival will be held from 3rd to 5th September, in Novi Sad. The Festival is organized by the Art Association Inbox from Novi Sad, with support from the City of Novi Sad and the Provincial Secretary for Culture and Information, Tourist Organization of the City of Novi Sad, the United States of America Embassy in Belgrade, Italian Institute for Culture in Belgrade and the Serbian Petroleum Industry.