The weather was once again threatening happy Lent-goers yesterday. It seems that the skies are at their darkest and most threatening right at the time when concerts are underway at the festival, but concerts apparently have special powers to drive away the rain. The road sign ‘Watch it! Music on the Road!’, erected to chase summer storms away from city streets, appears to have worked its magic, as it not only turns grey skies into blue, it is also most effective in turning bad mood into good. You can now take random walks across the city to the tune of excellent music that will control the weather on Maribor city streets until the end of Festival Lent, every day in the area between Poštna Street, Gosposka Street and Grajski trg (Castle Square). The first weather check starts at 11:00 and the second forecast is on at 17:00.
When yesterday’s rain was just about to turn from “it doesn’t look so good” to “Run!”, the Serbian folk dance group KUD Sevojno stormed Gosposka Street and started chasing away the clouds with Balkan rhythms and dance. But the clouds didn’t give up so easily, making an unwanted appearance when the music and dance were still in the air. The heavy crowds immediately offered support and assistance, moving to Poštna Street where the tireless Djembabe picked a battle with the rain with an amazing combination of East African rhythms with a Slovenian twist.
“I think we managed to drum away the rain and murkiness.”
Petra Sovič was happy to see clear skies while beating on her djembe without skipping a beat. Without nearly any fear of getting wet, we moved to Grajski trg where Nesesari Kakalulu were already in full swing. The fellas couldn’t even fit on stage, that’s how many of them there were, but they still braved the elements and provided a nice refreshment to the packed square that was by now basking in full sunshine.
The quality programme of Watch it! Music on the Road! continues today, making sure that we always have a smile on our faces. On top of the morning shift, British artist Tim Bridges will take on the weather at Poštna Street at 17:00 with a solid foundation of soul and funk. On the other side, at Gosposka Street, BorZ will hope for sunny skies with afrobeat, funk and blues, similar in style to Primojeni profesorji bluesa, at 17:15. And just to make sure the weather can no longer turn on us, Grajski trg will be taken over at 17:30 by the many members Liburoa with a mixture of rock, blues, and funk music.
For more info on artists who will perform in the next few days, take a look at the Festival Lent 2018 programme.