From 3 to 6 September, Kaunas will move to the rhythm of AUDRA for the fifth time. The festival’s music programme will stretch from free concerts by ba. and Garbanotas to dancing both under the open sky and inside industrial spaces. More than 50 artists and bands are on the bill, including world-class DJs making their Lithuanian debuts, legends of house and dub techno, and some of the country’s most popular performers.
Speaking about AUDRA’s music programme, its director Šarūnas Šimaitis emphasises that what audiences will experience in September is the result of almost a year of work. According to him, most international artist bookings are already confirmed in December and January.
“From the outside, it might seem that the programme begins to take shape when we announce the first names. In reality, as soon as one AUDRA ends, we start thinking about the next one: listening, watching and working out how different artists might meet within one shared festival narrative. Most bookings are confirmed during winter, so preparations for the September weekend begin well in advance,” says Š. Šimaitis.
According to him, one of this year’s biggest additions is the concert programme taking place at the industrial Pergalė factory on 5 September.
“We had been thinking about this idea for a long time. We wanted to create a genuinely different evening with an energy of its own. That is why we decided to bring two hugely popular names in contemporary Lithuanian music – Free Finga and kamanių šilelis – into the monumental former metal-processing factory. Their songs are already familiar to many, but in this space they will take on entirely new colours,” says Š. Šimaitis.
From house to dub legends
Asked to highlight some of this year’s key moments, the festival’s music programme director shares his personal top three most anticipated performances.
“First of all, Francesco Del Garda. He is one of the finest contemporary selectors and has never played in Lithuania before. He is known less for his own releases than for the exceptional quality of his DJ sets,” says Š. Šimaitis.
His second choice is Chez Damier, who has been writing house music history for more than three decades. His career also included a long hiatus: for almost ten years, Chez Damier stepped away from DJing and production, focusing instead on faith and gospel music. When he returned, music once again became the medium for his message and mission.
“This DJ is a true house legend. His biography runs through some of the most important moments in the genre’s development. He is not only a producer, but also an extraordinary selector who still plays alongside the greatest house masters. I’m incredibly curious to hear him at the Pergalė factory on 4 September,” says the festival’s music programme director.
Š. Šimaitis completes his top three with Dominican artist Paul St. Hilaire, better known as Tikiman. The Berlin-based artist’s voice can be heard on cult recordings by Rhythm & Sound and other pioneers of dub techno. On Thursday at AUDRA, he will perform a free set together with Richard Akingbehin, founder of Berlin community radio station Refuge Worldwide, in the courtyard of the M. Žilinskas Art Gallery.
A four-day route: from the free opening to the final dance
AUDRA’s musical journey begins on Thursday, 3 September, with a free festival prologue centred around the festival’s friends from Berlin, Refuge Worldwide radio. The courtyard of the M. Žilinskas Art Gallery will host both DJ and live performances from eioo, Fundamental, Monika Seta x Interiors, Pletnev and Tikiman x Richard Akingbehin.
On Friday, the action moves to the Pergalė factory, where the festival’s main party will put dancers’ sneakers to the test. Chicago house history will meet the current energy of European club culture inside the industrial space, with Chez Damier, Chloé Caillet, DJ JM, Marija x Mirror Slave, Mario Moretti x Valdagger x Mantas T., Marta, MCR-T, Roe Deers x Pakas, SPFDJ, Tarp Dviejų Aušrų, Tumosa x Roads and une x Cport Cistema.
On Saturday afternoon, the festival will spill out of the indoor spaces into the Pergalė factory courtyard, the crane track and bar Upė teka. The free programme will feature two stages: ba., Egzotikka, Garbanotas and shishi will perform on the live music stage, while the Disco stage will host Hades x Elboe, Imbrasasm x Eketė, Kikelomo and Youwin Trax x Greta Margo.
On Saturday evening, Free Finga and kamanių šilelis will take the stage inside the Pergalė factory, while later that night the festival’s music programme will close with the limited-capacity Dresden Dancecase.
For the first time on the AUDRA stage, French DJ Ivan Smagghe and Manfredas, one of the most important figures in Lithuanian electronic music, will perform together as a duo. Known for marathon-length sets that dissolve genre boundaries, Dresden will be joined by Francesco Del Garda, Saoirse and Aistė Regina x Donatas Chipak.
Although music remains at the epicentre of AUDRA, the festival does not stop there. The programme will also feature contemporary art, performances and other cultural experiences, while the Pergalė factory will host Treasure House, a group exhibition of Lithuanian and international artists curated by Berlin-based collective MOLT.
AUDRA will take place in Kaunas from 3 to 6 September. Some programme events are free of charge.