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The biggest blues festival in Croatia, established in honour of 'Philadelphia' Jerry Ricks, oneof the most remarkable exponents of traditional country blues, who chose Kastav as his finalresting place, this year again offers an attractive programme over several days.KASTAV BLUES FESTIVAL 2016CONCERTS/MUSICAL WORKSHOPFREE ADMISSIONThursday,4 August21:00KOSTRENA,terrace of theRestaurant &Lounge Bar TheBulldog BBQBlack Coffee (HRV)Tomislav Goluban (HRV)Friday,5 August21:00MATULJI, roof ofthe sports hallBonzo Radvány & Ľuboš Beňa (SVK)99th (HRV)Saturday,6 August21:00KASTAV,ForticaBelgrade Dixieland Orchestra (SRB)Jed Becker Group (HRV)Michael Messer (GBR)Sunday,7 August17:00KASTAV,Town loggiaMichael Messer (GBR)– Blues Workshop21:00VIŠKOVO,RonjgiTy Le Blanc 4tet (USA/ITA)Riccardo Staraj & Midnight Blues ta (SLO/CUB/SEN)Damir Halilić – Hal (HRV)Monday,8 AugustEXHIBITIONSSunday,31 July20:00KASTAV,Art CaféDamir Zamaklar: Photography & Blues(open until 8 August 2016)Saturday,6 August19:30KASTAV,Café bar LožaBožidar Milinović – Mr. Jazz:Limited Edition(open until 16 August 2016)

INFOKASTAV BLUES FESTIVALwww.kastavbluesfest.comKASTAV TOURIST BOARDwww.kastav-touristinfo.hrORGANISERVIŠKOVO TOURIST BOARDwww.tz-viskovo.hrCO-ORGANISERMUNICIPALITY OF MATULJIwww.matulji.hrCO-ORGANISERČAVLE TOURIST BOARDwww.tz-cavle.hrCO-ORGANISERKOSTRENA TOURIST BOARDwww.tzo-kostrena.hrCO-ORGANISERHAL THE BELGRADE DIXIELAND ORCHESTRA (RS)www.belgradedixielandorchestra.comDuring their 15 years of existence, the Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra have grown relativelyquickly into an important cultural institution in Serbia's capital and become a uniqueproduct of the musical culture of the country. The members of the orchestra have provedtheir status as excellent musicians with performances across Europe, and continue todelight audiences. They are all renowned musicians, many of whom are part of theSerbian Radio and Television Orchestra.2

GUISSE LEONARDI ZUMETA (SEN/SLO/CU)One of the biggest attractions at this year's KastavBlues Festival is the performance of the Guissebrothers from Senegal, the Cuban multiinstrumentalist Lazar A. H. Zumeta, and thelegendary Slovenian musician Igor Leonardi. AfricanBlues is very popular in the world, and its Croatianpremiere will be at our festival. The Guisse brothershave performed with the greatest star of Africanblues: Ali Farka Touré.BONZO RADVÁNY & ĽUBOŠ BEŇA (SK)www.lubosbena.skBonzo Radvány and Ľuboš Beňa are the bestknown Slovakian blues duo. In 2001, Ľuboš Beňawas voted 'Newcomer of the Year' by the SlovakBlues Society, and in 2004 and 2008 he won the titleof 'Bluesman of the Year'. The duo have performedacross Europe, Russia and the USA. Apart fromtheir fantastic performances, which include playingsimultaneously on multiple instruments to create afull band sound (a distinctive feature of Ľuboš Beňa),these musicians are also known for their excellentinteraction with the audience.BLACK COFFEE (HR)www.blackcoffeejazz.com'Black Coffee' are a well-known jazz band fromSplit who have been active since 1993. Thequality of their work is attested to by a series ofPorin Croatian music awards that the band haswon or been nominated for, and by theirnumerous concerts and frequent collaborationwith many renowned Croatian artists, such asGibonni, Gabi Novak, Arsen Dedić, TediSpalato, Divas, Meri Cetinić, Bruno Kovačić,TBF and others.3

TY LE BLANC (USA / I)http://www.tyleblanc.com/This American musician of African and Frenchroots comes from Louisiana, USA. Her stylebelongs to American R&B with blues, rock andpop influences. At this years' Kastav BluesFestival, she will perform with excellent Italianand Croatian musicians.TOMISLAV GOLUBAN (HR)www.goluban.comTomislav Goluban, whose music represents aninteresting blend of blues and traditional Croatianmusic, is one of Croatia's most prominent bluesmusicians. He has won four Porin and threeStatus awards. Performing solo, as part of a duo,or with a band, he has given concerts in 18different countries in America and Europe. He alsohosts a show on Croatian radio dedicated to bluesmusic.MICHAEL MESSER (GB)www.michaelmesser.co.ukThe British musician Michael Messer is a regularguest at the Kastav Blues Festival and is one of themusicians most responsible for the high standardsachieved over the last eight editions of the festival.He is one of the world's most respected slideguitarists and a winner of the BBC award. His latestalbum, recorded in collaboration with Indianmusicians, has achieved excellent positions inblues charts around the world.4

RICCARDO STARAJ & MIDNIGHT BLUESBAND -StarajRiccardo Staraj is one of the most active bluesmusicians in Kvarner, and has published severalcollections of poetry and two books. He is theorganiser and founder of the Mošćenice Summerof Culture, and has organised a large number ofevents in Kvarner and Istria. He works togetherwith numerous jazz and blues artists, actors,performers, painters and photographers. Since2012, he has been performing with the MidnightBlues Band, with whom he presents his booksand records. Staraj is member of the CroatianWriter's Association.99th (HR)This trio have been playing music since the 1990s,when they comprised the first line-up of the wellknown Rijeka rock band THE STUFF, with whomthey played for years in clubs across Croatia andSlovenia, and published a CD for Croatia Records('Majmuni iz sjene' ['Monkeys from the Shadows']).A love for traditional blues and its modern variants(Jimmy Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B. B. King,Robben Ford, Eric Clapton, ZZ Top) brought theseexcellent musicians together, which is a guarantee ofa memorable musical evening.JED BECKER GROUP (HR)A trio composed of well-known Kvarnermusicians: Tonči Grabušić on drums, DamijanGrbac on bass, and Emir Grozdanić on guitar.Their repertoire is made up of famous blues andblues-rock songs.5

DAMIR HALILIĆ – HAL (HR)www.halmusicland.comAn artist from Rijeka, and the founder and artisticdirector of the Kastav Blues Festival, Damir HalilićHal has published four albums which have beenacclaimed by both Croatian and foreign critics. Heregularly gives concerts in Croatia and abroad andworks together with the world's greatest fingerstyleguitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel, MurielAnderson, Woody Mann, Peter Finger, FrancoMorone, and Clive Carroll, and others, many ofwhom he brought to Croatia for the first time. Thegreatest acknowledgement of his work so far hasbeen a Porin Croatian music award for hisinstrumental album 'Mare Nostrum' (CroatiaRecords), which was recorded in London andproduced by the legendary B. J. Cole.BLUES WORKSHOPMICHAEL MESSER (GB)www.michaelmesser.co.uk/Michael Messer, one of Britain's leading slide guitarists, has made a great contribution tohelping the Kastav Blues Festival become what it is today and to it achieving such highstandards.He is a two-time winner of the BBC best acoustic blues guitarist of the year award. Hisadmirers have included renowned artists such as Johnny Cash and Louisiana Red.Messer has published approximately thirty recordings, including LPs, CDs, educationalDVDs, etc.As one of the world's leading guitar experts, in 2008 he started his own productioncompany, which soon became one of the leading guitar manufacturers in the world.6

EXHIBITIONSBOŽIDAR MILINOVIĆ – Mr. JAZZBožidar Milinović, Mr. Jazz, this year celebrates his25th anniversary as an artist. His exhibition entitled'Limited Edition' is dedicated to the Kastav BluesFestival. The opening of the exhibition will includeperformances by Sandra Zlendić and Martina Rejec,well-known artists from Rijeka.DAMIR ZAMAKLARMusic and photography are two arts thatprovoke similar feelings in listeners andobservers. With his photographs, DamirZamaklar wants to transmit the very sameemotion that a musician inspires in hisaudiences. This artist presents himself to thevisitors of the Kastav Blues Festival with hisfirst exhibition of photographs, entitled'Photography and Blues'.7

The biggest blues festival in Croatia, established in honour of 'Philadelphia' Jerry Ricks, one of the most remarkable exponents of traditional country blues, who chose Kastav as his final resting place, this year again offers an attractive programme over several days. KASTAV BLUES FESTIVAL 2016