The EXIT festival starts on the second week of every July. The genres of music that feature here are rock, dance, electronica, techno, hip hop, punk and progressive. This live music fun, which is widely known by the name State of EXIT festival, takes place at Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia, a picturesque setting that makes people look back into the 18th century when the fortress was built.
The Novi Sad EXIT festival started from a humble political beginning and has maintained a high stature within a short time. Sometimes the festival encountered occasional problems with financing its mission of encouraging Serbian youths to enter into the world of entertainment so as to address the pertinent social problems that they face on a daily basis.
The idea was the brainchild of three university students who hailed from Serbia, Novi Sad. The EXIT festival kicked of performances as a Students Union initiative. Several NGOs and many commercial companies have for some time maintained involvement in the activities of the State of EXIT. This festival was in the limelight all over Europe when it was chosen the Best European Festival during the 2007 UK Festival Awards.
Summer gets better for those who choose to attend this exciting exit festival. The people who voted for a whole month so as to choose one festival from a group of ten were really right in seeing something positive about the Novi Sad EXIT Festival that they did not see in other festivals.
Novi Sad EXIT Festival in Serbia
From the look of things, there are even more surprises in the coming summer. Many performing groups and bands always compete for slots at the festival. The festival has grown from the time when it had a political face to today when it only associates mainly with NGOs and commercial entities. It began off with a strong tinge of anti-Milosevic protests before fear of incarceration threw a dark veil over these strong sentiments. It therefore changed into a forum through the youth would engage in the political process.
Appreciation of the State of Exit festival in its modern form can only be appreciated by lovers of summer fun if they understand its history. For instance, the slogan of the fourth edition of the festival that was held in 2004 was “EXIT out of ten years of madness”. This was obviously in reference to the dictatorial regime of Slobodan Milosevic.
After the first democratic elections since the overthrow of the previous government were held in 2004, the Exit 04 festival become a darling of the ruling regime for various reasons that were hinged on the vested interests of the provincial, republican and municipal arms of government. Everyone on the corridors of power made sure that the event received a lot of funding.
Some of the foreign performers who rocked this festival include Banco de Gaia, Tony Allen, Maximum Roach, 4hero among others. The profile that gives the exciting exit festival its identity today derives its origin from the classical arrangement that was put in place in 2004.
The main stage has changed over the years such that only acts that are commercially appealing are held here. The EXIT festival in 2005 got the greatest boost with the BBC 1 announcement that it would cover the event live. Today, many people still reminisce the days when the festival was presented to the whole world and this is the main motivation for their attendance.
As time goes, suggestions to move the Novi Sad Exit festival to Belgrade continue to be made from different quarters within Serbia. This is because it has earned a nationalistic and traditional outlook. This casts the exit festival as an integral part of Serbia’s heritage. Many efforts have always been geared towards ensuring that Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs who suffered were remembered through a moment of silence. This was meant to ensure the injustices that were carried out against the people take place no more.
As for the live music fun at the exit festival, things always get better with time. The main recent headliners include The White Stripes, Garbage, Apocalyptica, and Underworld. Other highly popular artists who have also graced the event in the recent past include Ian Brown, Sasha and Laibach. As the list indicates, summer experiences during the previous festivals have been phenomenal. Nothing seems to deter increasingly growing international crowds from flocking this venue.
The Dance festival during State of Exit 06 was amazing. Over 600 performers presented electrifying performances in over 22 stages. The stages were allocated for various performances depending on music genres. This year, with the theme of the festival being ecology, summer fun was at its best.
Tags: genres of music, festivals, summer fun, live music fun, rio
[...] 5. The EXIT Festival [...]