The world renowned Exit Festival was back from July 6th-9th in the famous Petrovaradin Fortress, Serbia and once again this year it reached new heights. More than 200, 000 people attended in all and the main feature is always the famous venue – Novi Sad’s Petrovaradin Fortress which was completed in 1780 and has more than 40 different stages to hear music.
The electro-punk veterans The Prodigy headlined on MainStage on the first night for the first time since frontman Keith Flint passed. They had a hologram of him on stage and played classics like “Breathe,” that went down a storm. They were preceded by Swedish punk band Viagra Boys and followed by Chase & Status for an epic first day that also had a surprise: Indira Paganotto b2b Nina Kraviz was an impromptu set that got everyone raving hard. They found plenty of common ground and served up a high impact set of bangers, acid laced sounds and curveballs that the electric production really heightened.
Skrillex surprised tens of thousands of fans on the second festival night at the Gorki List Main Stage and at the mts Dance Arena Eric Prydz showed up with his emotional prog house and techno sounds blowing up the crowd. The production at Exit is off the scale and the whole site is a feast for the senses as you roam around. The music is loud and proud, the people are super friendly and the organisation is perfect after 23 years of perfecting their game.
On Sunday, endless hordes of people poured over the Varadin Bridge to secure the best spots in front of the Gorki List Main Stage for the performance of the greatest hip-hop group of all time, Wu-Tang Clan. It was to mark 50 years of hip hop and was a legendary show that had everyone singing along and dancing to the grooves. “The connection is hip-hop, everyone loves it, knows it, understands it, lives it, and breathes it,” concluded the leaders of the celebration of half a century of this culture, the members of Onyx.
Closing the dance arena, Keinemusik mixed up melody, groove, a hint of Afro drums and plenty of warmth which sent us all home happy and already looking forward to next year. The founder and director of EXIT festival, Dušan Kovačević, who experienced the sunrise at the mts Dance Arena in the company of his son and father, described it as “the most magical moment in electronic music” and… he’s not wrong!
