The great world and local names of the world music scene are coming to Novi Sad, and most of them will perform in Serbia for the first time, in this year’s European Capital of Culture. Original Enigma Voices, one of the most famous German music projects, Antropoceno, project of the famous French-Argentinean band Gotan Project, Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra, synonym for richness of diversity, Japanese guitarist and singer-songwriter Miyavi, composer and pianist Vasil Hadžimanov, king of sevdalinka Božo Vrećo, a representative of the traditional and ethno music, Bilja Krstić and the Bistrik Orchestra, are just some of the great names that we will soon listen within ‘Migrations’, the new programme arch of the European Capital of Culture.All of them, along with many other artists, are gathered around one theme – the positive impact of migration as artistic, in this case musical, inspiration, which is the main focus of the second programme arch ‘Migrations’.

Stars of the world music genre at the multimedia pavilion of literature

A special program unit within ‘Migrations’ will be the multimedia literary pavilion ‘Migration of Souls’, located at the Novi Sad Fair, from 3 to 13 March. The unique pavilion in this part of Europe will host, in addition to the most current contemporary regional writers, stars of the world music genre.

Winners of more than 100 platinum awards around the world, Original Enigma Voices arrives in Novi Sad for the first time, where they will perform with the city orchestra Camerata Novi Sad within ‘Migration of Souls’ on 13 March. These winners of the award for the most popular German performer, just after the first releases in the early 1990s, influenced the setting of a new musical direction, which is often called ‘enigmatic music’.

The day before, on 12 March, in the Hall of the Novi Sad Fair, two members of the famous band Gotan Project, pioneers in the art of combining traditional tango and modern pop with electronic music, present the music project Antropoceno. Through the project, Christoph H. Müller and Eduardo Makaroff connect music and science, with a special emphasis on climate change.

A week earlier, on 6 March, the real representatives of richness of diversity arrive. The band members themselves come from different parts of the world and combine jazz, Roma, klezmer and other music genres. This is the Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra, a band whose performance of the famous Roma song ‘Gelem, Gelem’ has more than 10 million views on the YouTube platform.

The ‘Migration of Souls’ programme will be opened on 3 March by Japanese guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer known for his specific style of playing, Miyavi, with the support of the EU Japan Fest and Japan Committee.

Local names of the world music genre, which will complement ‘Migration of Souls’, are Bilja Krstić and Bistrik Orchestra, recognizable by the sound of traditional music, whose concert is scheduled for 10 March, while Bogdan Ranković and Novi Sad band ‘Etnoforija’ will perform along with the famous Japanese dancer and choreographer Kaori Ito on 8 March. Partner of the ‘Migration of Souls’ programme is the Novi Sad Fair, and the companies Globos osiguranje and Dijamant DOO also provide support.

First of all, on 18 February in the City Concert Hall, composer and one of the most important representatives of the jazz scene in Serbia and beyond, Vasil Hadžimanov, will perform with his band, while at the same location on 15 March, the citizens of Novi Sad will enjoy the concert of king of sevdalinka, Božo Vrećo.

Ticket sales start tomorrow

Tickets for all concerts within the ‘Migration of Souls’ programme unit will be on sale from tomorrow, 15 February, at Gigstix ticket offices, online at gigstix.com, as well as at the box office of the Novi Sad Fair. Tickets for Vasil Hadžimanov’s concert are already available at Gigstix ticket offices and online, while tickets for Božo Vrećo’s performance will be on sale soon.

The ‘Migrations’ programme arch includes more than 300 cultural events and activities, which will feature about 130 artists, of which almost 90 are European. Throughout February and March, there will be almost 20 current exhibitions in Novi Sad, eight of which are about the history of the city. In addition to this, almost 10 plays, about 30 concerts, 40 workshops and numerous other events are being implemented.

You can find more details about the programmes of the European Capital of Culture on our official website.

Photo: Promo, V. Veličković