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By:
Besarte Elshani
- July 26, 2024 16:34
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The first night of the "Sunny Hill Festival" was a successful test in the "test" edition, the first in its own home, in Bërnica te Poshtme. The stage does not miss such global megafestivals, because even the stars are such as Bebe Rexha of Black Coffee. Prishtina takes another breath as soon as the festival starts, which aims to become the biggest of its kind in these parts
Two famous names in the world of music have "shaken" the stage of "Sunny Hill Festival". The energetic and electrifying opening has led to the edition, which has a total of four nights. The first one was amazing in terms of quality in the program. With the world-famous Albanian singer, Bebe Rexha, and the master of electronic music, DJ Black Coffee, until the early hours of the morning, the rhythms of the world stage landed in the suburbs of Pristina and the feeling of experiencing a festival that puts into operation all the forces for entertain the public. Like an Albanian "Glastonbury", such are the goals.
The doors of "Sunny Hill" have been open to the public since noon. The traffic in the capital and along the main road up to Bërnica i Poshtme, some ten kilometers from the center of the capital, has been the signal that on the first night, at least, the Festival will be full in its first edition in its home. The figure of 25 people, as the organizers claim, seems exaggerated, but, nevertheless, in the wide space the public is scattered.
The park of "Sunny Hill" can be freely called a megapark with many possibilities, whether in terms of entertainment with music, attractive spaces for rest and supply of drinks and food. A noticeable increase in prices has been observed in contrast to the last edition two years ago in Parkun e Gërmia.
But one thing is clear: that "Sunny Hill" aims to grow forever and be one of the top festivals in Southeast Europe.
Local artists until lighting up the stage
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"Sunny Hill Festival" on the first night with the star Bebe Rexha and the rhythm of Black Coffee
It started with "DJ Set", "The Milk Snatchers", the band "Zwada", La Fazani, Mozziku and Dafina Zeqiri. The unique creations of each artist echoed by being presented to the foreign public attending the festival this year.
But the star of the first evening was Bebe Rexha.
With a grand entrance followed by electronic music beats and a light show, Bebe was soon introduced. It's like a sign of modesty. She communicated with the audience every time her songs were finished. Between the songs he invited to sing along with him. She even shared the stage with young talented dancers, whom she invited to accompany her with a performance under the rhythms of her song. He has not stopped joining the crowd to reflect even more on the public's love for him.
"I am Bebe Rexha and I am very happy to be in Kosovo for the first time", were her first words. A t-shirt is thrown on stage. Rexha opens it out of curiosity at first, but it turns out to be the message she is proud of - "I love Prishtina".
"My parents are from Dibra and we have the same blood", she said on stage. He took the time to make the eagle symbol with his hands.
She started her first performance in Kosovo with one of the songs with which she started her success on the international stage - "Me, myself & I" - just before 23:00 p.m.
Her very rhythmic songs, such as the hits "I'm Good (Blue)", "In the name of love" and "I'm a mess", have caused the audience to burst into applause and cheers.
"Take me home" was like a dedication. "This song is called 'Take me home' and here I am. In home. Thank you to the festival for the opportunity to meet this good audience", the 35-year-old singer-songwriter from Dibra said from the stage.
Her latest song "Chase it", with a unique song and choreography, has left a mark in her debut before the public in Kosovo. In fact, the surprise was the modification of the song "I got you" with the couplet and the tupana. The ensemble performed on the spot. Bebe had warned that there would be something interesting. And chose to include the traditional in one of her creations much heard by the world public. Just as Rita Ora had done, who had mixed the song "Black Widow" with the rhythms of "Dance of the shot" in her concert in Pristina, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Independence of Kosovo.
Her electrifying performance lasted about an hour. In the VIP area, Dua Lipa was also seen enjoying her performance and that of local artists. The latter once again kept the rhythm just before 01:00, the atmosphere was electrified by DJ Regard, the internationally known artist from Kosovo.
DJ Black Coffee was a story in itself, as the second star of the first night that lasted almost until sunrise. And, "Sunny Hilli" will bring three more nights.
Landing in Kosovo just for the festival
Adea Kryeziu, an economist by profession who lives in England, said that Rexha was very positive on stage and that she enjoyed every minute of her performance.
"It's a good feeling behind the superstars who are from our country. Although she is from Dibra, she is still Albanian. It's been a good feeling for us to have that closeness with someone who is familiar. I think it is her first time in Kosovo. I hope that she is also satisfied, we were great", she said.
She compared "Sunny Hill" to "Glastonbury" although, according to her, there is room for improvement. The English festival, where this year Dua Lipa was the main star, is one of the biggest in the world. In the mid-90s, it reached 300 people in public.
"I have been to many other festivals, that's why I wanted to come here. For me normally there are things that could be better, but being in Pristina is the best thing. For me, the main thing is the atmosphere, there was nothing I focused on. But Burna Boy and Stormzy will be great, I believe", she further said about the two artists. The first is on the second night, the second on the third, Saturday.
Shend Llapashtica, a student, who attended a night of the festival for the first time, said that the atmosphere was extraordinary.
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"Extremely good atmosphere, I was very satisfied with Bebe Rexha's performance, I liked it. It was interesting, I liked it as a performance, very good atmosphere", he said.
The festival has attracted a large number of foreign visitors. According to the organizers, the number of followers of the festival is expected to reach 100 for four nights - 25 for each night. There is no official figure, but the organizers have said that over 40 percent of the tickets were bought from outside Kosovo.
Evrim and Gülen Ergin, father and daughter from Turkey, have come all the way for the festival.
"We came from Istanbul especially for this festival. It was much more fun than we expected, beautiful space and very fun festival. I am very happy to be here. Actually I came because my daughter forced me. But it is a format that Kosovo has. It brings the feeling of the international scene by bringing international artists. It's something very good and I appreciate it a lot", said Evrim Ergin while he considered the festival far from their expectations in the positive sense of the word.
"The preparations are very professional. I really enjoyed it. We will stay every night of the festival," said Ergin, an employee at the Turkish airline.
Gülen Margen, a young Turkish artist, singled out Bebe Rexha's performance, which she always wanted to see in a concert.
"I admired her work as a child and it was a very important moment for me to see her perform live. As for the other artists, not that I know much about them, but I'm really excited for DJ Snake's performance on Saturday. "I still have a feeling that I will like all the artists, because it is a good program," she said.
The rhythm of the "Sunny Hill Festival" has been taken under control by the world-renowned DJ, Black Coffee. Two hours after midnight, another stage dedicated exclusively to electronic music took place. They are his original creations, but also mixed ones of the outstanding repertoire of the musical era. Such as "Believe" by Cher. The stage where he performed was also magnificent. The projections on the stage showed works in their own right. There was also the black and white image of Black Coffee that he played in his mixtape.
Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo, 48, known by his stage name Black Coffee, is a DJ, producer and songwriter from South Africa. In his career, he also won the "Grammy" in 2022 for the best album of the dance-electronic genre. "Subconsciously" is the sixth studio-album and for it he also received the big prize.
Before him, DJ Regard from Kosovo performed a repertoire that included songs from the country and the international scene. Citizen ones among others.
The audience has made the experience of the first night of the festival even more special. Youth has taken a special place and has the largest number of participants. Vesa Sefaja said that she was most excited for DJ Black Coffee.
"Today I'm more excited about Black Coffee, he's a very good DJ, so I'm looking forward to him more than others. But the other artists are also very good, Dafina and Bebe Rexha are very good, in my opinion", said Sefaja, who was in the group of young people who came to "Sunny..." before the sun set. . The festival also has a policy for ticket sales for those who still believe the names of the artists have not been published. They are called "Believers" and this type of ticket costs 100 euros, unlike the others that cost 200 euros. That VIP goes for 400 cents of euros and they were sold a few days before the festival started.
Klea Morina said that they encountered difficulties this year with finding the location. He said that the prices were more expensive and that he was disappointed by the program.
"We had to walk a lot. Very good place, but very far and there were no signposts. A little disorganized. I am a 'Believer', I paid 100 euros, I think this time it was expensive for 'regular' tickets. I am disappointed, I expected more and this year it seemed to me that there were much less artists than in previous years. Then there is the non-inclusion of Dua Lipa in the program," she said.
Tea Kastrati has attended all editions of the festival. He said that this year is much better organized than previous years.
"I like it more this year because there is a lot of space, a lot of new things everywhere I turn my head. Much better here. I came to 'Sunny Hill' only for Burna Boy more. I lived abroad, society heard it a lot and then I did too, and it became part of my life. I am very excited to see it. There are Afro-beats and I really like listening to it, it's different than all the hip-hop and rap here," she said.
The young people from the diaspora have chosen to spend some of their days in Kosovo for the "Sunny Hill" festival. There are also vacation planners at the time of the festival which, according to the organizers in the last edition, brought Pristina 22 million euros in revenue.
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I always wanted to come, but it never happened because of living in exile. I am more happy about the Saturday artists. I hope to see Dua live, but I'm more happy for 'Pintat', Kresha and Lyrical Son. I have been to other festivals in Switzerland, but here very nice. There is no difference from there", said Valmir Azizi, who lives in Switzerland.
"Sunny Hill Festival" brings chapters of musical experience for three more nights. BurnaBoy and "The Martinez Brothers" are in the spotlight tonight.
