Zagreb International Blues Festival (ZIBF) has already fully deserved its spot on the European blues map, and now it’s coming back for the eight year in a row! Starting from today, 23 May, six concerts at five separate venues in the city will present the audience with outstanding performances of eight local and international musicians.
ZIBF kicks off with a traditional programme called ‘Play a blues for me – Tribute to Buha’, an evening dedicated to the departed Dražen Buhin-Buha, a founder of Croatian Blues Forces and a co-founder of the festival. Starting at 9PM at Hard Place, the festival will be opened by BE HA VE, Tomislav Goluban, Boris Hrepić Hrepa and Ben Dover.
Wednesday, 24 May is reserved for the Tomislav Goluban Trio, the latest winner of the Croatian Blues Challenge in both categories and the representative of our local talents at the biggest blues championship in the world – the International Blues Challenge 2017 in Memphis.
Igor Djeke and his electronic blues project Harp Explosion will play at Rockmark on Thursday, 25 May, while Friday marks a special occasion for ZIBF – the first performance with a live radio broadcast by the band Mićo i Mačke on Radio Student.
The festival is saving a special treat for its last day: the legendary Guitar Shorty, known as the man who taught Jimi Hendrix how to play and who’s performed with giants such as Willie Dixon, Otis Rush, Guitar Slim and Ray Charles. The Croatian blues fans will have two chances to hear him play, first at the guest show in the Rock Caffe club in Pula on 26 May, and again in Zagreb on the last evening of the festival, on Saturday at Hard Place.
Here’s a detailed schedule of events:
Tuesday, 23 May: Play a blues for me – Tribute to Buha
BE HA VE, Tomislav Goluban, Boris Hrepić Hrepa, Ben Dover
Hard Place, 9 PM
Wednesday, 24 May: Tomislav Goluban Trio
Mojo, 9 PM
Thursday, 25 May: Harp Explosion
Rockmark, 7.30 PM
Friday, 26 May: Mićo i Mačke
Radio Student, live on air, 8 PM
Friday, 26 May: Guitar Shorty
Rock caffe (Pula), 10 PM
Saturday, 27 May: Guitar Shorty
Hard Place, 10 PM
