The non-appearance of Senida, low attendance, three participants and one evening, instead of the usual three, sanitary inspection and tests for Covid 19 or vaccination certificates, marked the 12th edition of Bedem Fest, which was held on the walls of the old town.
"I've been waiting for the performance since half past 12, now it's 1.49:29 in the morning. Something happened, I don't know how a man can go to perform in such a situation when he's not respected. So my dears, you who came, I'm very sorry, I would have come because of you, not because of them. On August XNUMX, I'm performing at the Sea Dance festival, so for everyone who was there, I'm sending a bus to take you to the concert and bring you back home, that's the only thing I can do in this situation," she said is Senida via Instagram.
She told the audience to take pictures of tickets from Bedem Fest, send them to her email, and they will receive tickets for See dance. She did not explain why she did not perform, even though she came to Nikšić, only that she was not respected by the organizers. The same was said by her manager Milica Fajgelj, with whom the festival organizers unsuccessfully negotiated for Senida to go on stage.
"If there were two people, Senida would have come, but our conditions were not respected by the organizers. Senida was really looking forward to the whole performance and was literally ready to come, but some conditions from the organizers were not respected," said Faigelj.
Senida did not appear, but neither did the director of the festival, Petar Šundić, to explain to the journalists, and above all to the audience that was waiting for the performance of the regional star, why it was cancelled. Two days before the start of the festival, Šundić did not hide his delight that Senida, as he said then, would perform at his insistence.
This year's edition was opened by the queen of sevdah, as she is called, Amira Medunjanin, who in 2018 performed for the first time in the town of Miladin Šobić. Even this performance could not pass without a story about him, as well as his song "Instead of stupidity", which she sang at the end.
"I'm sorry that I have to go home already tomorrow. I would like to stay one day, so that luck from the heavens would show me and I would meet Šobić on the street, by chance in passing. I think I would faint. If he is watching, I wish him all the best, health, love and lived to be 100. He is one of the greatest for me," said Amira.
Although, as she said, she had to "climb a million steps" to the stage, she said it was worth it, because the old city fortress was a delight.
"It's a beautiful space, I'm sorry that I didn't come before. It's a fantastic atmosphere. Something for everyone, that's what's interesting. You don't get that very often and that's what I like."
As she said, she missed the concerts and the audience, and every concert is a holiday for her.
"I don't even know after how many months the silence destroyed us... Every opportunity to do a live concert in front of people, with people is a holiday in itself. People are the ones who make festivals and concerts. We did something online, but that's not it. That some direct contact with the audience, it's priceless, it's our soul food, so I'm grateful to heaven," said Amira.
After her, the young Niš band Zero Two, representatives of the partner Bunt rock festival, performed. The performance at Bedem Fest is their first appearance outside of Serbia.
"It's a very nice feeling here. We have our own fortress, it's a little bigger, this one is narrower, so the atmosphere is more intimate and I like it more for festivals. We have a new video. We are known for not having a vocalist. There is only Mića (Miroslav Petković) and me," said Luka Radulović, the guitarist of the band whose two main elements are jangle and metal.
As tradition dictates, for the end Bedem fest electronic music. Lea Dobričić performed, who performed all over the world in the most famous clubs, and shared the DJ desk with the biggest stars in her industry.
"It was great at the end. I enjoyed my set to the max. I'm really delighted with how it went, I'm satisfied. I extended the performance a bit. I didn't even expect more people, in four days of advertising it couldn't be better. I thought my set would to be a little softer, however, when I saw how people were in the gas, they were already waiting, the program was a little late, I started really hard, they accepted it and I think it went great," said Lea.
After the performance, she was the one who informed the audience that Senida would not appear on stage.
"I'm sorry that Senida didn't perform, I don't know why. The conditions weren't ideal for me either. I won't talk about the details now, but the organization was honestly a little late this year since everything was organized in a very short time. The conditions weren't phenomenal, but again we managed to make it really OK," said the techno lady who started her career in 2005.
Bedem Fest was not held last year due to the epidemiological situation and Covid 19. One gets the impression that they could have taken a break this year as well.
The sanitary inspection did its job diligently and none of the attendees could enter the fortress without a Covid 19 test or a vaccination certificate.
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