Romania feasts on summer rock, jazz festivals

19/08/2008

From Bucharest to the former European cultural capital of Sibiu, from the beaches of the Vama Veche resort to the foot of the Semenic Mountains, Romania enjoyed a rich and varied diet of music festivals this summer.

By Alina Bandila for Southeast European Times in Bucharest -- 19/08/08

James Hetfield (right) and his group, Metallica, played in Bucharest on July 23rd. [Getty Images]

Kicking off a summer of music were July 3rd concerts in Bucharest by the Roma band Damian & Brothers and the Serbian band Amaro Del. Soon after those performances came the July 4th-11th festival B'ESTFEST 2008, a major event that brought together Nelly Furtado, Apollo 440, Cypress Hill, Alanis Morissette, Manu Chao and the Manic Street Preachers. Old names like Judas Priest, Ross the Boss and Primal Fear appeared too.

Bucharest, though, feasted most on hard rock this summer, enjoying Lenny Kravitz on July 26th and Iron Maiden on August 4th. They filled the seats of Cotroceni Football Stadium. James Hetfield and his group, Metallica, needed no introduction to Romanians. They returned to Bucharest on July 23rd, having had their Romanian debut in 1999.

Kravitz, following Metallica by three days, enjoyed a warm welcome but committed the gaffe of referring to his host country as Hungary, spoiling the crowd's mood for much of the evening.

Iron Maiden performed to a sellout audience. Founding member Steve Harris said on the band's website that Romanian fans would have a chance to hear guitarist "Bruce [Dickinson] performing the classic songs". Dickinson had left the band prior to its previous appearance in Bucharest in 1995, but rejoined it in 1999.

In Sibiu, rock music enjoyed an airing at the ARTMANIA Festival on July 18th and 19th. Bands from Romania, Sweden and Germany, such as Frozen Dusk, Tiamat and Lacrimosa, respectively, were among the 12 acts.

Another event, the Peninsula Festival in Targu Mures, ran from July 23rd through 26th. Among its performers were Epica, Avantasia and Morcheeba.

In addition, the Stufstock Festival ran between August 14th and 16th in Vama Veche, a Black Sea resort near the Bulgarian border. Acts at Stufstock included Apocalyptica, Air Traffic, dEUS and Kultur Shock.

Jazz aficionados got their share too. The Garana Jazz Festival, at the foot of the Semenic Mountains, ran from July 18th through July 20th and featured a wide array of international stars: Charles Lloyd of the United States, Djabe of Hungary, Jaroslaw Smietana of Poland, Harry Tavitian and the Orient Express of Romania, Lars Danielsson of Sweden, the Lithuanian Jazz Trio, Miroslav Vitous of the Czech Republic, and others.