The countdown to the 9th edition of Sea Dance, the biggest Montenegrin festival, has begun. The event’s dates have moved closer to the middle of the summer this year, and it will take place from the 18th to the 20th of August on the beautiful Buljarica beach near Budva. The first headliners are two of the most exciting names on the global electronic music scene at the moment — melodic techno duo ARTBAT and fast rising international psytechno star Indira Paganotto.
The guitar sound at the peak of the summer will be provided by the eternal rock masters Van Gogh, while the indisputable Senidah and Crni Cerak & Lacku will dictate the trap beats. The festival will also support the Montenegrin electronic scene, with a special stage dedicated to it! These announcements are just the beginning of a new Sea Dance journey, for which ticket sales will begin on 1st March at a gift price of 24.99 Eur.
“Sea Dance Festival contributes to the affirmation of Budva as a world-famous destination and brings us audiences from all over the world. Our job is to accept everyone with an open heart and present ourselves as good hosts, which I believe we have proven repeatedly, leaving visitors extremely satisfied with the festival programme and their time in Budva. Our cooperation with ‘MY EXIT ADVENTURE’ from Novi Sad has been exceptional all these years, strengthening the ties that Budva and Novi Sad had nurtured since 1995 when the sisterly bond between the two cities was first established,” said the president of the Budva municipality Milo Božović.
“After EXIT, Sea Dance was the first festival with which we began our worldwide expansion. That is one of the reasons why this seaside festival has a special place in the heart of our festival family. We have booked two of the biggest acts on the electronic scene right now, whose genres are among the most popular worldwide. We expect that this, along with the festival’s beautiful seaside location, will prompt many visitors to come from all over the world,” said Dušan Kovačević, the founder and CEO of the EXIT festival group.
“The EXIT team has been pushing the creative boundaries with its festivals for decades, while Sea Dance awakens the senses on another energy level. The smell of summer in the air, a line-up created for everyone’s taste, a big stage and most importantly — always a great audience from the region and abroad with the same desire — to have a great time. We will climb onto the stage of Sea Dance festival full of energy, ready to hear the roar of the audience from our first guitar riff for an exciting musical journey. Come and paint another unforgettable starry summer night with us. We are waiting for you,” said the frontman of the band Van Gogh Zvonimir Đukić Đule.
The first Sea Dance acts: From melodic and psy techno, through guitars to trap
The authentic duo ARTBAT is coming to Sea Dance straight from the famous EXIT Dance Arena. Known as highly prolific producers, they have just released their first track of 2023, “Dreamcatcher,“ after ending the previous year with the acclaimed single “Tibet.“ They now release tracks on their own label Upperground, with which they’ve recently organised a series of events as well, and it’s a foregone conclusion that their stuff will be at the top of the charts. They managed to gain popularity while at the same time staying true to the underground sound. In 2019, the prestigious Mixmag named them the Star of the Year, and they also took home the title of #1 best-selling artist on Beatport and the Best Artist of the Year Award at the Ibiza DJ Awards. Their brilliant creativity was shown in the remixes of Monolink’s songs “Returning To Oz” and “Age of Love“ (in collaboration with the great Pete Tong), and they are now definitely at the peak of their almost decade-long career.
Clubbers worldwide have been delighted by the energy and sound brought by the Spaniard Indira Paganotto. She has perfected a sound that combines techno and Goa trance for more than a decade, and she fully reaped the fruits of her labour the previous year when she became one of the most sought-after performers on the electronic music scene. The talent of the charismatic Spaniard was recognised by Charlotte de Witte, for whose label KNTXT Indira Paganotto released the EP “Himalaya“ – and she has never looked back. It is with Charlotte that he performs at KNTXT events around the world, which sell out without exception. Late last year, she released a new “Lions Of God“ EP and reached the top of the Beatport chart with each of these new tracks at one point. She achieves a strong connection with her audience thanks to her commitment to interacting with fans and the fact that she calls everyone who energetically dances at her shows a “psytechno warrior.”
Local rock veterans Van Gogh will ensure the Sea Dance festival also has a high-quality guitar side. In a career spanning three decades, the band has published ten studio albums, with the latest being “More bez obala.“ This band, founded in 1986, has filled many halls in Serbia and the world and won the MTV Europe Music award twice. In 2019, the band’s singer, guitar player, songwriter, and frontman Zvonimir Đukić Đule published the book “Van Gogh – More bez obala,“ featuring song lyrics, photos, and, as stated in the book’s description, secrets.
Balkan trap queen Senidah will ensure even more genre diversity at the seaside festival. She has decisively marched and dominated the regional trap scene for the last five years; her voice is specific and raw. On stage, she radiates incredible energy and fearlessly walks the line between the strongest woman in the Balkans and the vulnerable Sladjana. Collaborations with artists such as Coby, RAF Camora and Atlas Erotika set her apart as a chameleon determined to give the audience something different each time. This determination is also exemplified in her latest album, “Za Tebe,“ a musical story transcending genre boundaries. The Serbian trap crew from the Belgrade neighbourhood of Cerak, Crni Cerak, consisting of frontman Seksi, Biba, Bandra and Ourmoney, are arguably the most prominent representatives of the new wave of the regional trap scene. Over the last three years, they have amassed millions of views on YouTube, and today they are among the most sought-after trappers in the region. Their music oozes their history and upbringing in the Belgrade neighbourhood of Cerak.
The first wave of Sea Dance announcements is reinforced by local DJs and producers, who will have an entire stage to themselves. This group includes Buba, Budo Šuković, Burkakke, CHBX, Eve Jo, IKS OKS, Lerr, Marko Pajković, Marko T, Moody Kid, Mr Mips, Necke, Novak, Pelzensers, Raven Tk, Shandu, Stanco, Starac, Stevan Mandić, Straks, Trippu and Vlado Božović.
Tickets go on sale on 1st March at gift prices!
Sea Dance will take place from the 18th to the 20th of August at Buljarica beach in Montenegro, and ticket sales will begin on the 1st of March at noon. The first set of tickets will be available at a gift price of 24.99 Eur on the festival website, as well as at Gigs Tix sales locations and online.
