Bedem Fest has "returned" home

"I expected something, and you gave me everything," Vana told the audience during her performance at the closing night of Bedem Fest.

And the giving was mutual - both Vana and the audience gave each other emotions and a night to remember.

"While we were waiting to perform, a punk rock band was playing and it seemed to me that they were going over very well with the audience. Those young tough guys really created a kind of atmosphere and I was hoping that the audience knew that I'm not that kind of performer and that I would be well received. Then it seemed to me that if the audience is warmed up to punk rock, what will happen to me, but in the end it exceeded all my expectations. I'm not lying to the audience, but this is perhaps the best sung song 'Kao da me nema tu', as far as the audience is concerned, recently. I think we presented ourselves well to begin with," Vana told reporters after the performance.

It was, as she said, an evening of getting to know her and the audience, and after an hour and a half and two encores, she left Nikšić convinced that she and the audience had "conquered" each other. And she leaves with a bouquet of flowers handed to her by the organizer of Bedem Fest, Petar Šundić.

"Now we know each other very well. Call me, I'm at your place again", Vana told the audience with the song "Full memory".

She received a recommendation for Bedem Fest from "Unfaithful Babies".

"I've known them for a very long time and I said - 'Okay, let's try it.' You never live on old glory and I hope that this time also brings some current events and interesting things and I hope that the audience can recognize that, even if they are younger than some of my songs. I am preparing some new songs that I hope will go well with the audience. These are songs that I wrote myself and it will be an original album. This is something special, because it was my wish that people hear my vision of music", said the singer who, as she says, preserves her good voice by using it.

And the band that warmed up the audience well before Vana's performance is one of the most attractive young performers from Serbia, the punk-rock band "Keni nije mrvat".

"For the first time, a group coming from Kruševac, which is burning and burning in the region, is in Nikšića and in Montenegro," said the frontman of the band, Mateja Đokić.

And the Bedem fest audience was convinced that they "glow and burn".

"We had a lot of performances all summer, but mostly we performed in places where we had already been, and we had our own audience. I'm glad that this audience was in a similar mood, as were our fans. It's wonderful here. The space is wonderful. I'm always a fan of those strange spaces, like these fortresses, for performance. You spoiled us", said drummer Sava Tomić.

Someone who did not need to be introduced to the Nikšić audience is Tanja Jovićević. The old connoisseurs showed what it looks like when they perform on their home turf, and for Tanja, Bedem Fest and the city under Trebjes are her home.

"In Nikšić and at Bedem Fest, I feel like a godmother. Petar and I have known each other for a very long time. We have been working together for 15 years, before Bedem Fest became what it is, and I am very glad that some things that are worth living live and gather some of us in the same place and on the same occasion. Music always wins, and the audience wonders. We lack socializing, the audience does the same, and we are here for socializing", said Tanja before the performance.

The former member of the group "October 1864", who conquered the audience long ago with her voice and incredible energy, showed and proved for the umpteenth time that she was not called a rock diva for no reason.

Old hits such as "Nađi me", "Crni ples", "Ti si sav moj bol" were performed, and the song "Još samo par godina za nas" with Tanja and the band was also played by Petar Šundić.

Then the rampart "lit up" - the torches that are synonymous with this festival illuminated the rampart. However, this time it happened without the knowledge of Šundić, who was delighted that there was a torchlight during his performance.

"This is a specific festival, because Nikšić has a specific energy, audience and fortress, and everything is somehow different. I am glad that this young generation got the chance to participate in it and hear something from older history, but also songs that are part of their youth. It's nice to see that songs, like a bequest, are passed down from generation to generation. This is proof that you worked properly and that the songs were properly understood," said Tanja.

The final evening of the 15th Bedem Fest was opened by the band "Mali Demon", winner of this year's partner Bunt Rock Festival. It was their first performance at Bedem Fest, also in Nikšić.

"Festivals like this are the right thing because they give young bands, such as ours, the opportunity to show their skills, and I hope that we achieved that tonight at the Nikšić fortress," said band leader Ilija Ivanović.

After them, the Podgorica group "Roba bez guruta" performed, which showed that the audience didn't just give them the most votes during the competition announced by the NGO "Pro futuro", the organizers of Bedem Fest, and the Youth Resource Center from Tuzla, and thus enabled them to performances.

"Before this, we had a gig in Podgorica's Trg and at the Zabjelo festival, but this is a special story - summer, Bedem and Nikšić, which I especially love. The organization of the festival is excellent. I have to praise the organizer of the festival, Petar Šundić, who literally "torn himself up" these days, said the frontman of the band, Rade Obradović.

This year's edition of the festival, which brought back its old glory, but also awakened new energy and reminded that, not without reason, it is called the "festival with soul", was closed by Vudu Popaj, a rapper who does not leave the audience indifferent. It was the same at the Bedem Fest.

"I am very excited. I haven't played in Montenegro for a long time. My first album was definitely a winning combination. There are musicians who never leave the framework that brought them success. I was driven by creativity and curiosity, I like to give my best in everything, hence everything I did after that first album", said the rapper.

In order for good things to succeed, it is necessary, says Vudu Popaj, for people with character, visionaries, those who are themselves, consistent and who will send an inviting message to the world to come forward.

"One of them is Petar Šundić, who is fighting like the last of the Mohicans to keep the wall fest and positive story alive. He amazed me with such a performance and fascinated me with energy", said Popaj, who had "expectations" for the performance that were in line with the "welcomes".

Although his new album, the eighth, "Stereoporoza", was announced as a comeback, Popaj said with a smile that he doesn't mind being someone who keeps coming back.

"That's true in a way, because I'm not constantly present in the media, because I don't belong to those monopolies, and in order to write a book I have to 'disappear' a bit. For people who know me, I'm always there. I always have inspiration for new songs because the inspiration sits earlier, malnourished in some folder and I choose what would be convenient. And that also depends on the team I work with. I have ideas in stock for two or three lifetimes. From time to time we will throw out something new and we will continue to be creatively oriented", said Popaj, who the night before the performance in Nikšić promoted two books - "Sad Zemun story" and "Voodoo stories".

Šundić: The wall must and should live and shine

"This year's Jubilee Fortress Fest showed and proved that the fortress must and can live. Bedem Fest brings and will bring light and life. Real magic and invisible chemistry happened between the audience and the performers, one cloud of love and positive energy. We saw how eager everyone was for this to happen. Nikšić was and remains the city of rock and roll, that one refuge, and we were the epicenter of the Western Balkans. Let's believe in this space", Petar Šundić summed up his impressions.

And that was not easy for him, because his emotions overwhelmed him.

"There have never been mixed emotions like this time. When we started with this story, there was anxiety, fear, uncertainty, but gradually everything fell into place and this is truly phenomenal. The performers had their say, they were delighted with the Bedem Fest, the audience and Nikšić responded. People felt the sincerity. We did not flirt, nor was any decision made in terms of calculations. We wish this fortress well and we don't want to be the only ones here", said Šundić and thanked the Municipality of Nikšić, without which, as he said, all their efforts would have been in vain, as well as without the help of all the friends of the festival.

"The time has come to look for a model together to revive this fortress and to continue doing great things. We have no more time to waste. This is the greatest potential of Nikšić, we have the best stage. This is a space where a special energy breathes that brings people. If we aspire to be the European capital of culture and to develop tourism, the fortress must not be in the dark. We have to look for a solution for this space", said Šundić.