Sziget Festival 2015: British Knights Europe Stage hosts top European acts

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Sziget is proud to host a multicultural Szitizen community, also reflected in the program offered by the Island of Freedom. Solid European bands, who have already proven their talent in their home countries now have the opportunity to showcase their music in front of Sziget fans from more than 80 countries. Their home will the British Knights Europe Stage at Sziget Festival, held in Budapest between 10-17 August.

On the Island of Freedom there is a special venue, the BK Europe Stage, dedicated to some of the most promising European artists. This year bands arrive from more than 20 countries, showcasing their talent and bringing their local hero powers to Sziget.

France will present Erotic Market, a quartet possessing magical powers. Lyrically they can be expressive or streetwise, while their hip-hop sound is full of catchy tunes, electronic effects and the chemistry of organic music. Winner of the European Reggae Contest in 2014, Wailing Trees, is a fresh up-and-coming French band, dynamic and ambitious, mixing ambitious sound of reggae tinged of soul, jazz, rock and world music. Representing The Netherlands Splendid is known as one of the most exciting, lively, party hard live bands. With their energetic mixture of pop, hip-hop and reggae sounds, the charismatic front man Pat and his 7-piece band sticks into your head like glue blowing off every party and festival’s roof. My Baby is a bluesrock trio consisting of Dutch brother and sister Joost and Cato van Dyck and Kiwi gitarist Daniel ‚Da Freez‘ Johnston. The band supported Seasick Steve on his UK tour in April and will not only perform at Sziget this year, but many other festivals too.

The Spanish Delafé y Las Flores Azules will bring their unique style and an invitation to surrender to the music and spread pure happiness. Also coming from Spain, The Always Drinking Marching Band, is a company made up by musicians, actors, technicians, dancers, pub poets (and many others, of course), that has been performing in the streets of the world since 1997. German singer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Laupert sings from the perspective of a songwriter, but mixes a secret into his songs, tender and approachable at times, and now and then with the guttural brokenness of the old blues masters.

Thanks to the support of Puglia Sounds (regional agency for the development of the local music industry) many bands have the possibility to showcase the best of Italian music at Sziget. This year the BK Europe Stage is happy to welcome the Après la Classe from Salento. Their sound moves from dub rock to electro rock mixed up with the live experience, several electronic sounds and original songwriting. Lo Stato Sociale is an electro-pop band born in Bologna. They received awards like “Best Young Talent of the Year”. Fast Animals and Slow Kids plays anthemic punk rock music, characterized by sing-alongs and walls of distorted guitars that are best to be heard/seen/enjoyed live. Founded in Perugia, the band has been playing restlessly in Italy.

Arriving from Poland, the Internet phenomenon, The Dumplings, moved up to become the biggest Polish sensation of 2013. Through their music, The Dumplings combine youth with intransigence, generational lyrics with fresh look at electronic music, catchy melodies with dance sadness. This year’s Finnish band is 22-Pistepirkko, founded on the ashes of a punk rock band called “Matti Mätä &SS” at Utajärvi. Representing Israel theAngelcy will perform at #sziget2015. The band received excellent reviews, thanks to its personal, spiritual, and politically involved texts, catchy melodies, various colorful influences and great musicians.

Mydy Rabycad – the very first Czech electroswing/modern swing band from Prague are four young musicians with sense of humor trying to act and play like real stars, while the Slovak Frequency is a young space pop band. Their virtue is mainly their multi-instrumentalism, which they present at live performances, and also their specific vintage/modern sound. The Belgian Lohaus is a young collective consisting of three musicians, bringing a mix of electro and trippop. The Austrian MÖWE is characterized by their powerful performance. Oliver Koletzi was quickly drawn to Mel & Clem and immediately signed them under his label Stil vor Talent, under which they launched their second EP “Inside”.

Naadia from Moscow is one of the most unique actors on the Russian independent music scene. In the center of attention we can find the singer, Nadesda Grickevic, who became the pioneer of the new generation of Russian artists. In the music of the Armenian gag-dance-punk duo, Wattican Punk Ballet, we can find psychedelic rock elements, danceable punk, distorted pop sounds and theatrical effects. HAYDAMAKY from Ukraine created their own genuine style called “Kozack Rock ”, based on Ukrainian roots music and contemporary music genres, and filled it with clear social message.

The BK Europe Stage also hosts some bands involved in CEETEP, the Central and Eastern European Talent Exchange Program. This is the final year of this concentrated program, aiming to include more and more talented CEE acts in the line-up of the biggest European festivals. As always, Sziget is happy to open doors and minds. In the framework of the program we can find Serbian band Eyesburn, who started a musical exploration of genres like reggae, dub, drum & bass and creating their own specific sound and mixture of styles which many people liked, expanding their fan-base. In addition, June from Macedonia will hit the stage with a breeze of freshness playing a mixture of indie pop, americana with doses of acoustic country pop.

Sziget Festival’s Europe Stage will be also the home of European talents on Day -1 and Day 0 (10-11 August). YOUROPEN is a 2 days selection of aspiring bands, arriving from 15 different countries and eager to show their skills in front of the world’s possibly most international and open-minded crowd. The program starts early in the afternoon and goes all the way till late night on both days.

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com