Batumi New Wave Rock Fest 2010

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In summer 2010, between 6-7 August, at the height of the tourist season, Batumi will host a large-scale, outdoor rock and alternative music festival - New Wave Rock Fest .

The festival started 5 years ago, when two enthusiasts, Artist/Producer - Levan Darshana Tsulukidze and Musician - Gocha Kacheishvili founded the production company: “Local Music/Art Zone” in Batumi.

Currently, Tsulukidze, together with his colleagues, run the company under a new name: “Art Wave” .The company, Levan explains, offers event planning, art production and promotion services, and hopes to become the most renowned event and art management player on the Georgian market.

Whilst the festival has been running every summer in Batumi for the last five years, it was only in 2009, when it opened its doors to bands from outside the country that it obtained the status of a truly international festival. Last summer it hosted guests from Latvia (Goran Gora), Turkey, Israel (Blondub Sexy Sound), Ukraine(NIMB), and Italy .

The list of Georgian bands and musicians who have played include: Outsider, Nebo SSSR, Ketato, Cerili, Nijara, Kung Fu Junkie, Nonoplane, Giga Rekhviashvili, Spandera and Compartia, Dog weather, Fly and others.

Although new, the festival has been successful, as it attracts visitors not only from across Georgia but from neighboring countries as well. Fans of the guest bands and artists are likely to flock to Batumi during the event. The status of the event is further supported by the ongoing development taking place in Batumi which is building upon the city’s reputation as the number one tourist attraction in Georgia.

The 2010 festival will offer wider diversity, better organization and more artists than ever before, according to the director and organizer of the festival, Levan Tsulukidze.

“The festival was founded with the aim of promoting and developing Georgian alternative music and centered only on Georgian bands at the start. Our company works hard to gather the most famous Georgian groups and musicians as well as promoting new talent. We will do our best to give them the opportunity to perform live, to introduce Georgian audience to their music, and to further develop themselves as artists. We want to help those who have an interest in alternative music, and ways of expression make their future. “

Being a rock music lover, Levan considers that “More attention is paid to the development of other musical genres in Georgia, be it jazz or classical music, while rock and alternative music has to work harder to sustain itself.”

With its slogan, the festival carries a popular message “Make Love Not War”. Now that the festival has grown to an international level, Levan told Georgia Today that the company plans to bring world famous bands and musicians to Batumi. “We’re working on it, and will carry out new projects soon, Georgian and non-Georgians audience will see the results shortly. We strive seriously to make Batumi New Wave Rock Fest world famous”.

Story by Salome Kobalava

29.07.2010