May 31, 2018 – The festival season is starting. TCN’s Dave Gasson reports back from the Sea Star Festival in Umag.
Sea Star Festival
Photography and Review of Sea Star Festival
By David Gasson
The Istrian city of Umag played host for the second year running to the Sea Star Music Festival. Following the award-winning success of last year’s event the festival is proving to be another popular and growing festival in Croatia. The Sea Star Festival is located at the coastal resort and lagoon of Stella Maris. On the opening night there was a welcome party with a relaxed atmosphere. The main stages were not open but the “Exotic Laguna”, and the “Beach Groove” stages had various Dj`s playing a wide range of music to the growing crowd. There was a silent disco held on the beach at the”Silent Octopus stage”
Friday night
On the Friday evening the two main stages “Addiko Tesla stage” and “Nautilus Arena” were opened and with all 6 stages now offering simultaneous entertainment it was time to watch my first band “Krankšvester”. With their satirical and explicit lyrics the popular Croatian band from Osijek soon had the crowd bouncing and rapping along.
Nipplepeople
Making a hugely popular return to the festival and making the main stage were the masked Electropop group “Nipplepeople” from Zagreb. They played many of their hits such as “Sutra”,“Ne volim te” and “Frka”. Their popularity in Croatia continues to grow and after this powerful, energetic and intriguing set it is easy to see why they are being nominated for numerous musical awards and why they are now and justifiably considered to be main stage performers
Hip Hop from Serbia
Over at the “Nautilus Arena” the Serbian Hip Hop band “Sajsi MC” played an incredibly energetic set, which at one point saw “Ivana Rašić” climbing onto the decks to sing, rap and dance.
Filatov & Karas
Keeping the party alive and really cranking up the tunes over at the “Addiko Tesla stage” was the Russian DJ duo Alex Karas and Dmity Filatov.
The Headline
Regarded by many as one of the masters of today’s dance-floors the headlining act for the Friday night was the German DJ “Robin Schulz”,.His show included his hit and remix of “Waves” by Hip Hop artist Mr Probz and the chart-topping “Prayer in C” originally by “Lilly Wood and the Prick” . From his latest album, “Undercover” he played the hit single “OK”, and his new single “Unforgettable” .
Saturday
The mainly Slovenian / Serbian and Croatian crowd spent most of the day on the beach and in the sea and as night approached it was time for more music and partying, As well as many DJ`s playing at all the stages, the main stage on the Saturday night saw three great bands perform. The first and playing an Electronic Pop / Rock set was “Boris Štok” from Rijeka and his band.
Detour
One of the leaders in Croatian Pop and Electro-Acoustic Pop were next to take to the main stage. The five-piece and multi Porin award winning band “Detour” delighted their fans by playing many of their classic and energetic tracks from the last 10 years as well as last years hit “Zaljubila sam se”.
The main band for the Sea Star Festival
With the festival showground full to capacity it was time for the main Saturday headline band from Manchester, England to take to the stage. The reception for “Hurts” was phenomenal and although it was the bands first festival of 2018 they gave an outstanding performance. Lead singer “Theo Hutchcraft” captivated the crowd with the band’s many hits and had them all singing and dancing along to “Wonderful Life”
Adam Anderson
The multi-instrumental “Adam Anderson” began seated at the piano under the spotlight before playing some great guitar shredding tracks.
Encore
“Hurts” played many of their hits and included tracks from their new album “Desire” with “Theo Hutchcraft” regularly throwing flowers and interacting with the adoring crowd. For the encore, the band divided the crowd into two and they all sang and joined in to “Stay ” from the debut album “Happiness”.
Overall
The festival was another success for the organisers who also organise the Exit festival in Serbia and this early festival is worth putting on the calendar for next year. With over 70 different performers there was a good mix of DJ`s, MCs, and live bands spread over six stages.
To view more concert and festival images taken by the Total Croatia News music photographer David Gasson, feel free to visit his music magazine Chasing The Light Art Website
Other Festivals with Previews on Total Croatia News and still to come include
Rovinj Polo and Sophie Ellis-Bextor 06.06.18 to 10.05.18 Facebook
Pula Jazz Season & Backstage Live Facebook or Eventim Tickets
GoatHell Metal Fest. 21.06.18 ~ 24.06.18 ~ Tickets and website
Seasplash Festival in Pula ~ 19.07.18 ~ 22.07.18 ~ Website.
Dimensions festival in Pula ~ 29.08.18 ~ 02.09.18 Website.
Outlook Festival in Pula ~ 05.09.18 ~ 09.09.18 Website
Other Concerts with Previews on Total Croatia News include.
Lado in Pula ~ 06.07.18 ~ Website
Iron Maiden in Zagreb ~ 24.07.18 ~ Eventim Tickets
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