37. mednarodni festival Druga godba: FESTIVALSKA VSTOPNICA

37th International Festival

DRUGA GODBA

Ljubljana, 2–10 July 2021

Maribor, 24 September 2021

Dear Druga Godba fans,

It's been a pretty rough year for all of us. Last year, despite huge efforts, we were unable to stage all the concerts we had planned; this was despite the fact that we opted, in all good faith, for a concept that we believed had the greatest chance of success. Of course, this being Druga Godba, we didn't lose our drive or our hope that we would be able to make up for lost time. The result is a new festival for 2021, albeit in condensed form and at a different time of the year to normal.

We are delighted to have reached the point where our ability to stage a festival is much greater than it was a year ago. Although we don't know what measures will still be in force, we are determined to organise something special for you, live and direct from venues in Ljubljana and Maribor. This time, in addition to stages at Cankarjev Dom and Kino Šiška, we are hosting outdoor performances at Vodnikova Domačija (where, together with Zavod Divja Misel, we will premiere a concert for children), at the Gala Hala summer garden in Metelkova and at Švicarija. We have also arranged back-up venues should the weather be unkind to us, although this will not be an issue when we move over to Narodni Dom in Maribor in September.

So, what will we be listening to? It has been clear for some time that Druga Godba 2021 would rely mainly on domestic talent. Katalena, Zvezdana Novaković and Katja Šulc will all premiere their new work, while Samuel Blues and Miha Erič will serve up the kind of blues we've not heard from these parts before. Legendary Croatian songwriter, poet and performer Darko Rundek recently released a superb album, Brisani prostor, which he will perform under the banner of Rundek & Ekipa.

More good neighbourly relations will be on show with a performance by Nemanja, who brought out his brilliant album, Cosmic Disco, following a debut appearance in Ljubljana at Ment 2020. It has since propelled him to the top of the regional music scene, with a fair amount of coverage elsewhere in Europe too. Looking further afield, Afghan singer Elaha Soroor was down to perform last year with UK band Kefaya, while young Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan and trio will perform at an event hosted jointly by the Glasbe Sveta concert cycle and Druga Godba in the Gallus Hall at Cankarjev Dom.

We have three more aces up our sleeve – acts who should have appeared last year and who will now perform on 26 July, 14 August and 23 October respectively. They are: Fatoumata Diawara, Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Kimmo Pohjonen. Three concerts from the Sogodbe cycle willalso be organised, on 26 August and 14 September.

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Holders of Druga Godba 2021 festival tickets will be issued with new tickets before the Tigran Hamasyan concert. Tickets will be issued one hour before the event at the entrance to the venue. You will have to present your festival ticket to staff before being issued with a new ticket.

Tickets have been reserved in the stalls (ground level) for holders of Druga Godba 2021 tickets.