Exit Festival

The Prodigy, Skrillex, CamelPhat, Keinemusik, Hot Since 82 and more announced for EXIT Festival 2023

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The first 23 names for EXIT Festival 2023 can be revealed today and they include the legendary return of the most influential electro-punk band of all time, The Prodigy, with tens more to come in the next few months.

After a multi-year break, the band are to return to EXIT, and it’s a place they have a rich history and deep connection with the Serbian audience. It is also an event they have said is their favourite to play in all the world so you can expect this date to be a real highlight of their comeback international tour, as the band’s founder Liam Howlett explains: “EXIT is our favourite festival! We were there (in Serbia) when a lot of sh*t went down. They hold us in their hearts as a special bend, and we love the people there.”

The EXIT 2023 programme runs from July 6th – 9th at the famous Petrovaradin Fortress and it will be headlined by electronic music revolutionary Skrillex, rock sensation Viagra Boys, the Keinemusik collective as well as CamelPhat, Hot Since 82, Vintage Culture and Indira Paganotto. The performances of The Toasters, Cockney Rejects, Human Rias, Mortal Kombat, Zoe Kida and many others have also been confirmed. A total of 23 names are ready to take their place in the EXIT Universe by coming to four of Exit’s favourite stages – Main Stage, mts Dance Arena, Visa Fusion and Explosive for this fantastic four day celebration.

The Prodigy has been a leading force in the global electronic scene for decades. Songs like “Firestarter,“ ”Breathe,“(which premiered in Belgrade) “Smack My Bitch Up,“ “Voodoo People,“ “No Good (Start The Dance),“ “Out Of Space,“ and “Everybody In The Place“ are not only the huge part of musical history, but have been integral to the upbringing of generations around the world for the past 30 years. Their immense popularity in the region is evidenced by breaking the Main Stage attendance records at each of their performances, which are expected to be repeated next  year. Their 1995 concert in Belgrade’s Pionir Hall left an indelible mark on Serbian society after the wars and sanctions, reconnecting young people with the world and providing them with a sense of freedom, rebellion, and revolution through music. This connection was deepened at the EXIT festival from their first performance in 2007 through the 2009 edition, to 2013 and 2016. The members of the most influential electro band of all time showed how much they loved the local audience when they proudly declared that EXIT is their favourite festival and that they love the Serbian people!

The Prodigy: EXIT is our favorite festival!

Many thought, including the band itself, that The Prodigy would stop performing after the tragedy, but we knew this wouldn’t be the case. The comeback concerts in London showed that the fire in them burns stronger than ever, and the iconic band’s reunion with its favourite, EXIT audience, will surely be the most emotional yet. In July, we will witness a moment of true music history, which will reach its highest point with a special laser projection of Keith Flint” said the founder and CEO of the EXIT festival, Dušan Kovačević.

Skrillex, the American producer and DJ who has wild memories of Exit, will also return to the Petrovaradin fortress. After his first performance at the Main Stage in 2014, which is remembered as one of the greatest in the history of Exit, he was so delighted by the atmosphere that he decided to cancel his other performances and stay until the end of the festival. This musical innovator has eight Grammy Awards, which is a record in the electronic music scene. Releases such as “My Name Is Skrillex,” “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,“ “Recess,“ and collaborations with the biggest global stars like Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber and Diplo, Ellie Goulding, and J Balvin have redefined the entire genre. Next July, Skrillex returns to the Petrovaradin Fortress in full force and with a minimum of two more albums announced.

Viagra Boys and their eccentric frontman Sebastian Murphy, professional jazz musicians and hardcore veterans from Stockholm, are coming to Serbia for the first time, straight to Exit’s Main Stage! Their music is strongly based on the elements of parody and satire, presented at their very first EP, “Consistency of Energy,“ followed by their debut album “Street Worms,“ and last year’s LP “Welfare Jazz.“ Scottish producer/DJ duo LF System is also coming to the EXIT Festival’s Main stage – these hitmakers are known for their refreshing soul sound, topping the UK Singles Chart and earning a platinum record with their single “Afraid to Feel.“

Keinemusik, CamelPhat, Hot Since 82, Vintage Culture and Indira Paganotto Coming to the Dance Arena!

The DJ and producer crew Keinemusik consists of &ME, Rampa and Adam Port, who have made this project one of the world’s leading house attractions. They affirmed their status at this year’s Burning Man and are coming to Serbia for the first time. The guys from the duo CamelPhat boast sold-out performances at Wembley and Hydra Arena, their own night at the Creamfields festival in the impressive Steal Yard Arena, and a Grammy nomination, and they are also coming to EXIT for the first time, at the peak of their popularity. Their nearly 20-year-long career has had many essential chapters, including the global hit “Cola,“ a collaboration with ARTBAT on the track “For A Feeling,“ and the latest single “The Sign“, created in collaboration with Tale Of Us, which reached the #1 spot on the Beatport chart. Hot Since 82 brings everything fans of house, deep house, and tech house could wish for. The loyal Dance Arena audience is perfectly aware of the kind of atmosphere he can create and that critics rightly describe his music as “the most sophisticated in the UK”.

Vintage Culture made his big breakthrough on the global electronic scene with covers of iconic songs like “Another Brick in the Wall“ and “Blue Monday“. In the meantime, many of his releases have gone platinum and reached the top of the Billboard, Spotify, and Beatport charts. He recently presented a new single, “Commotion,“ in collaboration with the legendary Maxi Jazz. Many electronic music fans still haven’t had time to fully process the masterful closing of the No Sleep Festival and Exit’s No Sleep Novi Sad Stage, both marked by Indira Paganotto’s recognisable psytechno style. She has just released a new EP, “Lions of God,“ with each and every one of its tracks reaching the top of the Beatport chart. The line-up also includes Human Rias, who became the only performer in history to both open and close the mts Dance Arena last year! First name of Pachamama stage is local Sarasvati Druna Band.

The beloved Visa Fusion Stage will host the iconic American ska band The Toasters, who are “hitting the gas, not the brakes” after four decades on the scene. They have over 7,000 live performances under their belts, while Mojo Magazineincluded them among the most influential ska bands of all time. The Visa Fusion Stage line-up will also include Belgrade’s Mortal Kombat, with its hard sound and provocative lyrics and the charismatic singer-songwriter Zoe Kida.

The fierce Explosive Stage will host the Swedish hardcore punk band Wolfbrigade, the Californian melodic hardcore band Ignite, the Cleveland thrash metal band Midnight, the British Cockney Rejects, Mirror and The Bar Stool Preachers, the Romanian atmospheric folk black metal band Sur Austru, as well as the cult American thrash metal band Sacred Reich.

Early-bird tickets are on sale from 87 EUR +b/f. Tickets can be purchased here. The sunniest Holiday Offer begins on Thursday, 15th December — with each purchased ticket for EXIT 2023, fans will get a ticket for one of EXIT’s seaside festivals as a gift.

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Skepta and more added to Exit Festival 2019

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Exit Festival’s latest announcement includes Skepta, UK’s king of rhymes who is seen as not just the rapper but an activist and the only MC who managed to popularize the London sound in United States! His fans include Mick Jagger, Pharrell Williams, Drake, Naomi Campbell, as well as A$AP Rocky, with whom he released the planetary hit “Praise the Lord“! The phenomenal IAMDDB is also coming from the British Isles, after being shortlisted by the BBC on their acclaimed Sound of 2019 list, so it’s only natural that her trap-jazz bangers “Shade”, “Drippy” and “Kurr£ncy” are a mainstay on the best hip-hop and R&B parties. In order to keep the Main Stage’s Sunday finale in the spirit of hip-hop, EXIT will host the master of live performances Desiigner, the creator of the decade’s most viral hip-hop song, “Panda”, which reached the tops of the American charts and has over a billion YouTube views to this day! This summer, EXIT will take place at the spectacular 18th century Petrovaradin fortress, from July 4 to 7 and still discounted tickets can be found at exitfest.org.

At a time when the music industry was turning its back on the street phenomenon of “grime”, Skepta became the best-known representative of the style that many call the new punk! It has been more than a decade since Skepta made everyone go nuts with the famous “Rolex Sweep” dance, after which came prestigious awards in the form of Mercury, BRIT, BET, MOBO and NME trophies, as well as the influential GQ list of best-dressed celebs. He was also featured on the cover of the famous mag last year, alongside supermodel Naomi Campbell, while the two were rumored to be in a relationship. Skepta is not afraid to take on burning social and political issues, as well as the hot topic of racism, which is why many refer to him as more than a rapper, but an activist. His rich biography lists colabs with names such as the great Mick Jagger, while Drake went as far as tattooing the initials of Skepta’s record label and collective “Boy Beter Know”. With the help of the megaproducer Pharrell Williams, he published his monumental “Konnichiwa” album three years ago, which consequently went gold in Britain and brought Skepta numerous accolades!

Hip-hop’s influential XXL magazine dubbed Desiigner one of the next big things in its “Freshman Class” list for 2016, and lo and behold, he published his huge hit “Panda” just a few months later, receiving the Billboard award for the best rap song, thus leaving Migos in the dust with “Bad and Boujee”, as well as Rae Sremmurd with his popular “Black Beatles” number! He was noticed by Kanye West who signed him to his record label, G.O.O.D. music, with new record-breaking tracks following, such as “Timmy Turner” and “Liife”, where he was joined by the trap legend Gucci Mane. Recently, he sent his fans in a frenzy thanks to brand-new singles “Soul” and “Earned It”!

Proof that Manchester is not just a city of Brit-pop comes in the form of a young artist dubbed IAMDDB, short for I Am Diana Debrito, who calls herself a “lovechild of trap and jazz”. This fearless lady found herself at the third place of the BBC “Sound of 2018” list, while her name was also listed on the acclaimed Forbes’ “30 under 30 Europe 2019” list.

This year, just as the name suggests, all genres will be thrown in the mix on the Addiko Fusion stage, including hip-hop, thanks to the announced arrival of the Balkans’ rap queen Sajsi MC and the beloved rap-trio Bad Copy! This “hip-hop festival within a festival” will carry on to Cockta Beats, the new hotspot for all hip-hop fans which will only feature performers of this genre! The mind-blowing line-up is currently lead by the biggest regional rap stars, Vojko V and Krešo Bengalka, popular regional bands Atlas Erotika, Bekfleš, Buntai, Hazze, High5, I.N.D.I.G.O, Krankšvester and 30Zona, as well as new talents, such as Klinac and Elon, whose star-studded career is more than guaranteed. The gang at the fortress will further gather the most popular DJ collectives and mix masters, such as Vatra, Cake Boys, FAM, Irie Scratch & Shorty P, Bajko Felix, DJ Laki & DJ Rokam, Palace, Traples, Luka Brasi, PLYZ, New Wave, In Da Klub, trepaj il krepaj, Vaske, Yung Rosh, Zimski and Lil Yung.!

EXIT tickets are available at exitfest.org, and for those who wish to bundle them with accomodation and local transfer, there are also packages starting at €135. Default accommodation is the festival camp located on the city beach, while hotels can be booked through EXIT’s official tourist agency at exittrip.org.

EXIT Festival will be held 4-7 July 2019 at Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, while the always diverse line-up will include The Cure, Greta Van Fleet, Carl Cox, Skepta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, DJ Snake, Desiigner, Lost Frequencies, IAMDDB, Sofi Tukker, Tom Walker, Maceo Plex, Charlotte De Witte, Boris Brejcha, Peggy Gou, Jeff Mills, Amelie Lens, Dax J, Phil Anselmo & The Illegals, Tarja Turunen, 65daysofstatic, The Selecter, Peter & The Test Tube Babies, Whitechapel, Atheist Rap, Arcturus, Total Chaos and many more to come soon.

Bastille and Wiz Khalifa added to Exit Festival 2016

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Exit Adventure adds Wiz Khalifa, Bastille, Stormzy and Lost Frequencies to the bill!

First lineup additions for Exit and Sea Dance festivals

One of the biggest hip-hop stars of today, Wiz Khalifa will perform Exit Festival on July 10th! Khalifa is at the peak of his ever-rising popularity after heading most of this year’s charts with “See You Again” which is one of three most viewed videos of all time! Adding up to three billion YouTube views, Pittsburgh rapper is one the most popular artists in the world known for collaborations with Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Snoop Dogg, Miley Cirus, Maroon 5, Lily Allen, will.i.am, 50 Cent and numerous others. Khalifa has been nominated for ten Grammies, including the Song of the Year, which secured him a performance at Times Square NYE! Indie rock attraction Bastille are joining the Exit's bill for festival's openning on July 7th. The London-based quartet has swept the planet with their hit-singles "Pompeii", "Things We Lost in Fire" and "Oblivion", pushing their debut album "Bad Blood" to tje the top of the UK Albums Chart, followed by the BRIT award for the British Breakthrough Act. The world music scene eagerly awaits their new album, set to be released next year which only lucky fans at Glasto got to preview at a secret gig!

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/PnwEcdhO6co

The most talked about MC of this year, a MOBO award winner Stormzy will perform on July 10th July at Exit’s Main Stage. He owns the first ever freestyle single that entered UK chart’s Top 10. Stormzy's unstoppable force proved with his campaign to get his grime anthem “Shut Up” at the top of the UK Singles Chart on the week of Christmas Day, usually taken up by one of X Factor stars, such is Louisa Johnson who has already fallen behind him along with One Direction!

Exit Magic Adventure 2016 – New Lineup Additions:
Travellers for both Exit and Sea Dance are in for another ultimate X-Bass Adventure in partnership with UKF. The magical Petrovaradin Fortress will host Playaz 20th Anniversary lineup at Exit's opening night with DJ Hype, Ms. Dynamite and Sub Zero joining the bill. Exit will also host the most demanded DJ sets of Wilkinson, Modestep and Ivy Lab trio (Sabre, Stray and Halogenix). Festival goers at spectacular Jaz Beach are in for a treat as Andy C premieres at Sea Dance too with many more acts soon to be announced!

Fusion, the second biggest live stage at Exit, will host the forefathers of the dub genre, Dub Pistols on Saturday, 9 July! Last year, the band returned to the scene in grandiose style, "Return of the Pistoleros". The same place will be coloured by the sounds of the popular Dutch indie rock band Kensington, presenting their work to the audience on Friday, 8 July with their latest album “Rivals“.

One of the leading dubstep DJs and producers, Zomboy, continues his journey through the Exit Adventure and after this summer's smashing set Exit, he'll be heading south to Sea Dance, for an equally euphoric festival closure! After "Resurrected", an album that won the hearts of millions of fans, this 25-year old mixing virtuoso from England had the opportunity to collaborate on remixing some of the biggest players like DJ Fresh and Flux Pavilion, and of course, his mentor Skrillex!

The award-winning Sea Dance Festival will also have a grand opening with the Belge hitmaker Lost Frequencies making everyone singing on 14 July! Huge summer hits, "Are You with Me" and "Reality", will echo throughout the Adriatic coast in a special sunset set. These two singles were among some of the most listened tracks this year, joining the likes of digital chart toppers Wiz Khalifa, Ellie Goulding, Kygo and Feder!

Hardwell headlines Dance Arena at Exit 2015

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EXIT Festival is proud to announce that the Number 1 DJ in the World Hardwell, will be coming to the Dance Arena this summer. The global superstar is set to take to the decks on Friday 10th July 2015, and will be bringing his signature sound to the Petrovaradin Fortress for the very first time. This top-selling hit-maker from the Netherlands remains the king of the global Top 100 DJ rank list for a second year running and is also the youngest ever holder of the coveted World’s No.1 DJ title. Having just this week released his debut album, Hardwell looks set to reach even greater heights than before and so we are delighted to have him play for us this year.

HARDWELL 
Hardwell’s unprecedented success story in the electronic scene doubles as a phenomenon which echoed through the world music industry. In the last couple of months, his producing skills secured the favours of the biggest global stars such as Rihanna, Coldplay, Ellie Goulding and 30 Seconds to Mars. While Hardwell’s fame was fuelled by popular remixes, his enviable success was brought on by hit singles “Spaceman“, “Countdown“, “Jumper“, “Apollo“ and many more. Hardwell’s newest album “United We Are“ which features hit singles ‘Arcadia“, ‘Young Again“ and “Sally” , which we are will sound even better bouncing off the fortress walls in the legendary dance arena. 

Motorhead to rock Exit Festival 2015

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One of the loudest hard rock bands of all time, MOTÖRHEAD, are finally coming to EXIT to play hits like ‘Ace of Spades’, ‘Rock Out’, ‘Killed By Death’, ‘Overkill’ and many others in ravenous rhythm! Motörhead were formed back in 1975 by bass player and singer Lemmy Kilmister and the current line up with Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee can reflect on Motörhead’s 40th Anniversary next year. The band, who were just nominated for another Grammy Award for ‘Heartbreaker’ from their beststelling current album ‘Aftershock’ had persistently fought against any classification of their music and frontman Lemmy Kilmister always open the set with: “We are Motörhead. And we play rock’n’roll!“

The legendary hard rock band has a huge fan base all over the world and a highly productive career: back in the studio in January 2015 they will start working on their 22nd studio album to celebrate Motörhead’s 40th Anniversary, coming right up when they play the famous EXIT festival!

One of the most entertaining rock’n’roll bands in the world, the Californian EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, will perform for the first time in Serbia in celebration of EXIT’s 15th anniversary! The band has been successfully playing with the dirty rock aesthetic since 1998. Backed by their witty lyrics, videos and performances, they deconstruct stereotypes that were set by the hard riff sound. The band was formed by the mischievous rock’n’roll duo, the charismatic Jesse Hughes and the multitalented Josh Homme. Albums „Peace, Love, Death Metal“ (2004), ‘Death by Sexy’ (2006) and ‘Heart On’ (2008) launched them to the very top of the world riff scene, while hits like poput ‘I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News)’, ‘I Got a Feelin (Just Nineteen)’, ‘Wannabe in L.A’, ‘Miss Alissa’, ‘Cherry Cola’, ‘Only Want You’ promise nothing short of an explosion of energy at the Petrovaradin Fortress.

Eagles of Death Metal announced a new, long-awaited album set to be released in 2015. Frontmen Jesse Hughes commented on this in a highly recognisable fashion: “Again, [we've] stolen a bunch of songs from the greatest rock bands in the world. So technically, this will be the greatest rock album ever made!“

The rock’n’roll giants will be joined by the local representatives. The new Serbian supergroup ŠKRTICE will perform in front of a world-class audience. The famous Serbian rock'n'roll frontman, Cane from Partibrejkersi, is joined by some of the finest Belgrade musicians. The supergroup's collaboration promises to open a new chapter in rock music.

One of the most influential hardcore/reggae bands in the region, EYESBURN, have been active for an incredible twenty years. Their labour of love is best witnessed by their instantly recognisable sound – which is no small feat. Their mixture of tight guitar riffs and reggae rhythms set them grossly apart from other bands. Eyesburn will once again show at EXIT why they became and managed to stay a symbol of an entire social and music movement in Serbia and in the Balkans.

Exit Festival 2014 Friday Review

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The morning was filled with the soft sound of rain on tent covers. The almost open air tin showers, which the day before had been filled with sweaty travellers washing lay empty and the open air pool seemed slightly desolate under the grey sky.

People sat and chatted and drank beer under the two large gazebo areas, now and again a cheer would rise up but nothing too raucous. The site was muddy and the rain incessant. But the mood was relaxed and comradely.  At 8 o’clock as Horchester took to the main stage they were greeted by sporadically spaced plastic poncho covered people.

However in true EXIT style as the moon began to rise and Serbian soft rock  outfit Van Gogh began their performance slowly and surely the fortress became swollen with people. Van Gogh are known as one of the biggest bands in Serbia, having started their career in the 80’s when the country was still known as Yugoslavia. There were a lot of people singing along and by the end of the set the front section of the crowd were raising their hands and pumping them in time to the beat.

As they finished up and the crowd moved away in different directions to ready themselves for Gloria Gaynor “A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong came on while the roadies set up. It was a lovely little soft moment in the rain, people were singing along or dancing slowly with each other cheek to cheek.

Gloria Gaynor kept the good mood going despite the moistness with a casually nuanced performance only an old hand at the game could give. She paced the stage hitting every note easily with a voice still soft like honey, and seemed genuinely happy to be there. People boogied along to the disco beat and sang up the words they knew back at her.

Friday night was arguably the biggest of the weekend, and it seemed as if the entire festival was decanted into the Main Stage area as the lights went up for Rudimental. Their live show didn’t disappoint, even if the squish factor went from medium to high, (both around and on the ground) the mood was electric and every song was a belter. Vocalists Anne Marie Nicholson and Bridgette Amofah brought the noise working their way between them through the whole Rudimenatal’s debut EP with style and panache, while DJ Locksmith kept the crowd upbeat and on their feet throughout the entire set.  The musical collective were as tight as a tiger and it was a pleasure to watch such talented performers have a party on stage to which everyone was invited..

At roughly the same time across at Huawei Fusion Stage, Asian Dub Foundation were also bringing down a banging set, with enthusiastically dancing crow. Ghetto Priest was a beast, and obviously enjoyed getting to use his commanding presence on stage.

 There was a point when the speakers blew, which is fair enough considering the amount of noise that was being pumped through them. Someone threw a beer and Chandrasonic gave them an intelligent dressing down, in a softly softly quick fire rap tinged with melancholy about how shit we are to each other. The feel good factor could not be dampened, and when the sound came back on the party started back up in earnest.

Even at 3am with the festival site now a sticky sloppy mess every stage was packed with muddy shoed happy smiling people, the festivities went on till the wee hours with the MTS Dance Arena packed out until 6 am when the sun finally decided to break through the clouds and the die harders making their way back, with raised voices, to the campsite.

EXIT Festival had pulled of another banging evening in the rain.

Exit Festival 2014 Review

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Voted the ‘Best Major European Festival Award’ in 2013, we had massive expectations for Exit and now come the end of the weekend, we can tell you that our expectations where well exceeded.

With one of the biggest festival lineup’s in Europe, Exit’s headliners this year included Damon Albarn, Skrillex, Pet Shop Boys and more.

Unlike many other festivals, Exit starts off in the evening around 7 – 8pm and goes through to the early hours of 6am.

As we mentioned in our previous review, Pet Shop Boys kicked off Thursday evening in spectacular fashion, if not to the biggest crowd, but to an appreciative crowd, leaving us to ponder what the rest of the weekend would have in store for the Summer Festival Guide crew.

Disclosure also took on the revamped Dance Arena and were billed to bring their live show to the Novi Sad Castle.  However a last minute press release stated that the production duo could not do their full live show however their Wild Life themed night would go on.  Getting on the one’s and two’s Disclosure had packed out the amazing Dance Arena at Exit.  This is one of the most exciting and spine tingling arena’s at Exit due to its awesome layout and setup and it made for a perfect setting for Disclosure.  Hits such as ‘White Noise’ and ‘Latch’ had the crowd singing their hearts out but it was the end of the set with surprise hits Chic’s Le Freak’ and Outkast’s ‘Miss Jackson’ that really topped off the night.

Exit Festival wasn’t blessed with the best weather this year and it didn’t matter one bit as the crowd didnt really care and still enjoyed Exit to the fullest.  It almost resembled a typical Glastonbury!

Rudimental have featured heavily on the festival circuit this year and after a cancellation at the 2013 edition they more than made up for it at the Friday night slot.  Bringing raw energy and drawing a massive crowd to the Main Stage, the UK band smashed out hits from their “Home” album including “Waiting All Night”, “Free”, and “Not Giving In”.  Serbia was definitely treated to what we picked as one of the best live shows weekend and it really did lift the bar for what we expected by the other artists this weekend.

One of Exit’s biggest draw cards is their Back to Back sets and this year we were treated to some of the best B2B combinations we have ever witnessed.  Carl Cox & Danny Tenaglia joined forces on Friday to bring their house & techno vibe to Novi Sad.  Both Carl and Danny are legends in the electronic music scene and it was an immense pleasure to see them playing together.  As the sun set on the Dance Arena the lads had the crowd grooving from start to finish.

Other notable B2B sets that we managed to catch were Afrojack & Quintino, their high energy electro house set in the early hours of the morning keep the crowd going right up until the end.  Exit regular Green Velvet joined forces with Carl Craig to deliver a house and techno infused set pleasing those that like the harder side of electronic music.

The biggest drawcard for Exit this weekend had to be ex Blur frontman and Gorillaz head honcho Damon Albarn.  Being his first trip to Serbia, Albarn treated the packed out Main Stage crowd with tracks through his back catalogue as well as tracks from his critically acclaimed “Everyday Robots”.  Kicking off with his the chilled out “Lonely Press Play” and “Everyday Robots”, it didn’t take long before he had the crowd singing along to Gorillaz tracks “Kids with Guns” and Blur’s “All Your Life”.  However the biggest tune of his set had to be “Clint Eastwood”, Albarn really seemed to enjoy his time on the stage at Exit and his performance was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Another massive name on the festival circuit is Sonny Moore, better known by his stage name Skrillex.  Skrillex arrives slightly late to the party and already has the main stage packed out waiting to see this grammy award winning artist.  If you haven’t seen this guy live then you don’t know what your missing.  Not only is the guy like an energiser bunny on stage, but his stage presence is like no other DJ.  You would not know that its 2am when Skrillex comes on as the energy around the main stage drives you to keep moving and dancing.  Kicking off with “Try it Out”, Skrillex is already bouncing around behind the decks and instantly has the crowd moshing and going crazy.  His mixing is fast and his set is powerful and energetic and by the end of the set we are soaked with sweat.  Talking to a few people on the crowd after his set, you can tell that Skrillex delivered exactly what they came here to see.

Sunday sees the likes of Hurts, Suede and Pretty Lights take on the main stage as well as the return of Deep Dish and Jaymo vs Andy George in the Dance Arena.

Hurts kick off our night in the Main Stage and play to a packed out crowd.  This English synth pop duo have the entire crowd sing through the majority of their set with standout hits “Mercy”, “Wonderful Life”, “Excile” and encore “Better Than Love”.

We managed to catch up with grammy nominated producer Pretty Lights in London prior to his Exit performance and we made sure that we caught him on the Main Stage in his early morning slot.  Pretty Lights genre infused music is something fresh and pleasing to listen to over the huge sound rig and he rightly has a massive crowd on hand to enjoy it.

Deep Dish reformed this year after a hiatus to bring their house music to Novi Sad.  Playing in the Dance Arena they played massive set full of huge drops and fat baselines to those that ventured to see them perform.  It was great to see these guys back together as their productions were hugely popular back in the day.

Exit Festival has come a long way since its inception back in 2000 and now see’s over 200,000 people go through the gates each year.

As we walk around the festival we are gutted that its almost about to be over, the weekend has flown by and Exit has captivated us, the crowd have been amazing and the lineup even better.  It was our first Exit experience and it definitely will not be our last.  If there is one European festival that you need to experience in your lifetime then Exit should be at the top of your list.  See you in 2015!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pet Shop Boys to open up Exit Festival 2014

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The opening ceremony of the 15th edition of the best European festival, will be held by the Pet Shop Boys who are coming to EXIT’s Main Stage with an exquisite blend of unique stage set, lasers, extraordinary costume changes, original dance choreography and a plethora of hits.

The prodigious pop duo Pet Shop Boys, with over 50 million records sold, are entrenched in the Guinness book of records as the most successful duo in the history of British music. Their colossal career entails 12 studio albums, six Grammy nominations, over 20 music awards three of which are sacred Brit awards. Their stunning hits “It's a Sin", “West End Girls”, “Heart”, "Paninaro", "Domino Dancing" and "Se A Vida E" influenced a host of generations of music fans and gave pop music a distinct shade it exhibits today.

Reputable British Newspapers, The Telegraph and The Guardian wrote smashing five-star reviews of the duo’s show and album Electric, citing their “theatrical pop” performance. Neil McCormick even wrote for The Telegraph “Pet Shop Boys are moving forwards, taking their retro synths into a brave new digital age.”

The critically acclaimed “Electric” album is graced by almost unanimously favourable reviews worldwide and represents PSB’s return to dance music, as well as the best possible message to young bands playing electric music today – it’s not just about beats! Their melodies carry an almost haunting beauty, their lyrics are bustling with humour and subtle notes of nobility, and their entire show is set as an impeccable celebration of the ceremonious victory of spirit and mind over life’s not-so-pretty moments. These are the same values that EXIT has, and continues to, uphold and promote all these years.

Pet Shop Boys' show is designed by Es Devlin, a multi-award-winning artist, with extensive experience and projects under her belt in theatre, dance, film, opera, television, and concert. She has also worked with pop, rock, and rap artists – her lengthy list of performing artists includes, apart from Pet Shop Boys, stars such as Kanye West, Muse, Lady Gaga, Shakira, Miley Cyrus, Lenny Kravitz, Goldfrapp, Take That…The collaboration between Pet Shop Boys and Devlin will provide EXIT this year with an incredulously one-of-a-kind, novel and epoch-making opening performance! 

EXIT Festival Announces Suede, Explosive Stage and UKF Pre Parties

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Britpop icons Suede join EXIT Adventure for the 15th Edition to headline the Main Stage at EXIT Festival alongside the already announced Daman Albarn, Gloria Gaynor, Rudimental Live, Skrillex and Stromae.  Plus first acts for the Explosive Stage are revealed and three exciting pre parties in collaboration with UKF.

The 15th edition of the Best European Festival is celebrated by a big eight-day EXIT ADVENTURE that’s taking us to ROCK@EXIT festival on 11th June 2014, at the Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad, only to continue to EXIT festival held on the same spot from 10th to 13th July, only to top it all off with SEA DANCE festival from 15th to 17th July at the Jaz beach, one of the most beautiful, smooth silky sand beaches of the Adriatic Sea.

EXIT also won the most prestigious festival award this year, ‘Best European Festival’, with the help of more than 620 000 votes from all over the world, in a category pitted against 360 festivals from 34 countries.

Come and join the Adventure!

SUEDE TO PLAY IN SERBIA FOR THE FIRST TIME
Eccentric icons of new glam rock and heroes of the 90s pop scene, SUEDE, with the charismatic Brett Anderson at their front, are coming to Serbia for the first time as headliners of EXIT’s Main Stage on Sunday, 13th July.Mercury Music Prize winners and authors of epic hits ‘Beautiful Ones’, ‘Trash’, ‘Animal Nitrate’,‘The Wild Ones’, will play their greatest hits, as well as songs from their latest, sixth album “Bloodsports.” Q magazine named it one of the best albums of 2013. The final day of the festival will be the perfect time for Anderson’s fans to reminisce why they had huge crushes for him and sway gently to the rhythm of the electrically charged songs of these British seducers.

EXPLOSIVE STAGE RETURNS WITH A BIG BANG!
Brace yourselves for an extreme sound at Petrovaradin fortress because EXIT’s most fire-starter stage is coming back with a bang! The four days of Explosive will host more than 36 bands from 14 countries, from guerrilla underground to worldwide renown mainstream names. The energy levels of EXIT adventure are so high that last year’s Riffs&Beats stage exploded, massively expanding into an even more vehement program at Explosive stage. The stage that’s coming back hammer and tongs will fuel all fans of metal, punk, rock, and hardcore with bands like SABATON, MADBALL, 7 SECONDS, ARKONA, DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR, HELLER, HOBBS ANGEL OF DEATH, JAMBINAI and many others!

3 NIGHTS. 3 PARTIES. 3 SECRET LINE-UPS. 3 MASSIVE REASONS TO GET HYPED FOR EXIT!
Since making a firm party pact last year, EXIT and UKF’s X-Bass night schedule takeovers are swiftly becoming the stuff of festival legend. With revelations of this year’s line-up still rumbling along all the right channels, this year the relationship is set to go next level.

Each night between July 10-13 UKF and EXIT will be home to THE biggest names in all genres of dance music: Rudimental, Adventure Club, Andy C, Gorgon City, TC, Sub Focus, Pretty Lights, Fred V & Grafix, My Nu Leng, Koven, Dub FX, Dimension, Shadow Child and Jaguar Skills are all signed, sealed and ready to deliver throughout each night at the event.

To get into the party spirit, UKF, EXIT and surprise members of this white-hot line-up will be colliding one week before the event to host three very special launch events in three of the UK’s most discerning party cities between July 2-4: London, Bristol and Brighton. No line-up announcements, just three unique events where anything can – and will – happen.

London’s Corsica Studios, Bristol Exchange and Audio Brighton: Each venue handpicked for its intimate, instant-shindig atmosphere, these events will be three one-off parties with some serious huge talent guesting the controls. And they’ll cost no more than £10.

Whether you’re heading to Serbia or not, these launch parties cannot be missed. Just take one look at the X-Bass line-up again and start speculating now!

Exit Festival Dance Arena Back to Back Grand Finale announced

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One of the greatest duos in the history of dance and electronic music and winners of the highly coveted Grammy award, DEEP DISH, are reunited once more after six years apart, and one of their must-see gigs is happening at the Dance Arena! They last played EXIT together in 2008 and now Sharam and Dubfire grace us with their presence again. The Iranian-American duo won over the house scene from the moment they met in the ‘90s. They’ve been awarded the music industry’s hallowed Grammy for their remix of Dido’s “Thank You” and all their past work lead to this quote from the Rolling Stones: “There’s probably no greater DJ duo than Deep Dish!” We couldn’t agree more!

BETTER LOST THAN STUPID or more commonly known as Squillace-Buttrich-Tanzmann are the freshest heavy-weight collective that sprouted up from the lines of house and techno DJs and they’ve been playing as this unique back2back2back collective since 2010. As solo performers, these musicians had their hands play on turntables of the world’s top clubs and festivals, while their gigs as Better Lost Than Stupid are almost religiously exclusive and redefine the very definition of a DJ set, especially the way they flirt with “live” gigs supported by Buttrich’s rich experience with equipment for live electronic gigs and Squillace’s and Tanzmann’s studio wisdom.

Newcomers JAYMO & ANDY GEORGE have not only set into motion one of the most attractive British music labels, Moda, but have also thrown parties worldwide, had live gigs on BBC Radio 1, launched the Moda Black label, produced a cover CD for Mixmag, and held two of the most important residencies in the world: We Love… Space in Ibiza and Fabric in London. Publishing music by renowned artists like Maxxi Soundsystem and Eats Everything, Jaymo and Andy George achieved acclaim by discovering upcoming young talent like Hot Since 82, Mia Dora and Disclosure. They now are to make their debut on the Dance Arena Stage in a special Jaymo vs Andy George set. 

Equally, after bonding over hamburgers at the end of 2011, WAZE & ODYSSEY went from an anonymous Soundcloud profile to one of the most exciting electro performers in 12 months. During that turbulent time they released plenty of critically acclaimed singles for Wolf Music, Disco Bloodbath and Throne of Blood; They remixed artists like Disclosure and T.E.E.D.; had gigs on all continents and became regulars in shows by Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Skream & Benga, with further support coming from numerous club DJs – from Ralph Lawson and Starslinger to Duke Dumont and Horse Meat Disco. Their sound resonates with what is popular all over the continent and having one of the most popular Ibiza smashes of last summer, the Dance Arena is pleased to welcome Waze vs Odyssey to kick off Sunday night proceedings.

The EXIT MAINSTAGE will also have electronic music fans dancing with delight as headliners Rudimental and Skrillex take to the stage. EXIT will once again be the 'Fortress of Bass' with a second year partnership with the world renowned bass music champions UKF who will once again be taking full responsibility for the Main Stage X Bass program from 1am right the way through to EXIT’s iconic fortress sunrise. Promising to blow up the EXIT backline are none other than Adventure Club, Andy C, Dimension, Dub FX, Fred V & Grafix feat MC Dynamite, Gorgon City, Jaguar Skills, Koven LIve, My Nu Leng, Pretty Lights live visuals show, Shadow Child, Sub Focus, TC and many more!
 

DANCE ARENA B2B LINE UP: 

Thursday: Disclosure presents WildLife: 
DISCLOSURE Live
CARL CRAIG VS GREEN VELVET
DUSKY VS PAUL WOOLFORD
JACKMASTER & ONEMAN PRESENT CAN U DANCE 

Friday: Carl Cox vs Friends:
CARL COX VS DANNY TENAGLIA
BEN KLOCK VS MARCEL DETTMANN
EATS EVERYTHING VS CASSY
PLANETARY ASSAULT SYSTEMS Live

Saturday: Saturday Night Fever
AFROJACK VS QUINTINO
MACEO PLEX VS DANNY DAZE
TIGA VS DJ HELL
HEIDI VS KIM ANN FOXMAN

Sunday: B2B Grand Finale

DEEP DISH
BETTER LOST THAN STUPID – Davide Squillace Vs Martin Buttrich Vs Mathias Tanzmann JAYMO VS ANDY GEORGE
WAZE VS ODYSSEY
+ VERY SPECIAL CLOSING SET GUESTS TBA