SZIGET FESTIVAL 2007 Jubilee, Superstars and many more

Sziget Festival 2007
Jubilee, Superstars and many more

In 1993, a festival - known as Diáksziget (Student Island) - opened its gates for the audience for the first time. Since then Sziget Festival of Budapest became one of Europe’s biggest multicultural events. Thus this year - between August 8th and 15th - the usually seven day long festival awaits its visitors for the 15th time. Celebrating the jubilee, the festival’s program expands to be 8 day long. On Day Zero, August 7th one of the most remarkable names of the Hungarian history of rock, Locomotiv GT will perform on Sziget Mainstage.

Short Sziget history - 1993-2006

In 1993, for the delight of the 43 thousand visitors 200 concerts, 80 movie shows and 40 theatre performances took place on Diáksziget (Student Island). A year later 143 thousand guests were at Eurowoodstock, where - beside the formally present Hungarian bands - Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Grandmothers of Invention (band of Frank Zappa), Jefferson Starship, Birds, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Eric Burdon played as well. After the early financial problems till 1995 the festival started a constant development with new program venues each year and more and more international stars. By the beginning of the new millennium, 2001-2002 Sziget festival had a coherent, well structured program which included the diversity of most cultural genres. The fact that all presale tickets were sold and there were quite some instances when day tickets were sold out since 2005 shows Sziget's wide popularity. Beside the development in programs the quality of services went through a significant change as well and today Sziget Festival is a well known and recognized multicultural youth event across Europe and the rest of the world. In 2006 more than 60 program venues, 200 programs a day, 250 international acts from 44 different countries, 500 Hungarian concerts and a number of other cultural and entertaining programs were to be experienced by the visitors.

2007 - The 15th Sziget Festival

The locomotive is running again. It is eight days absolute fun at this year's jubilee Sziget. The normal seven day party will be opened by an additional show of Locomotiv GT on Day Zero, August 7th.

One of the most remarkable bands of the Hungarian history of rock was founded in 1971 under the name Locomotiv GT. Their name was to represent the enormous workforce of a locomotive and the speed of special equipped race cars (Grand Tourismo). The band's first show was at Budai Parkszínpad on July 28th, 1971. Their career is full with unforgettable tours, 12 albums, many singles, a number of English albums and additional concert albums plus their presence on a high number of selections. They gained international fame in the year of their foundation at the Tokio Yamaha festival and introduced themselves, with great success at many festivals across the world. They had shows with ZZ Top, Joe Cocker, the Beach Boys, Nazareth, Rod Stewart and a number of other international stars. The band was invited to major rock festivals of the US with hundred thousand visitors. LGT published albums and official bootlegs in Japan, the Netherlands, DDR, USA, Poland, USSR, Spain, Argentina and Great Britain.. "Rock sensation comes from the East not from the West: Locomotiv GT. Remember this name, because you will hear a lot about this band." - wrote the New Musical Express in August, 1971. Now, 36 years later Sziget's Hungarian and international audience will get a taste of last three decade's LGT products.

International Superstars on Sziget Festival

Although it is just the beginning of spring, more than fifty international bands confirmed their presence and accepted the invitation of the organizers of Sziget festival. Let's see the already known highlights of the five international main stages ( Mainstage with major international superstars, World Music Stage, WAN2 stage showing the diverse alternative pop culture, Party Arena with electronic dance music, and Hammerworld with metal performances).

MAINSTAGE

The Mainstage of the jubilee Sziget will have the most diverse and best program of the past years. This year we can meet fresh sensations, actual super productions, cultic stars moving thousands around the world and also some of those bands are on the list, who gave the most successful shows of the past years.

The Killers, the world's most popular and most successful band.
Nine Inch Nails one of the most iconic figure of the last 20 years with a tremendous impact on styles and fans.
The Chemical Brothers, the long awaited star, which never lost its actuality.
Faithless is back on Sziget. Their show is always a great success and so far each of their performance overcame the previous one.
Madness, the best party music band of all time from UK.
Pink, a cool-chick image goes along with considerable talent heaven might award the chick with cosmic fame.
The Good The Bad and The Queen, the greatest music splash of 2007. The new project of the Blur superstar and Gorillaz brain trust, Damon Albarn, is simply a super group.
Sinéad O'Connor, the colourful, significant and frondeur female pop icon.
The Hives, one of the most talented squads of Swedish pop who redefined and brought garage-rock to perfection with their black and white suits and uniforms and sixties-kits.
Juliette and the Licks, the extravagant heroine of such cult movies as "Natural Born Killers". Juliette Lewis is as suggestive, genuine and fascinating when she rocks on the front of the stage as when she’s on film. Her act in Budapest counts among the most memorable gigs ever taken place on Sziget Main Stage.
Gogol Bordello, the real freaky renegades and also one of the most remarkable new companies on the contemporary music market whose Sziget-debut at WAN2 Stage last year was a massive success.
Mika, the new sensation of pop.
Mando Diao one massive spearhead of the potent Scandinavian altrock army also visits Sziget this year.
Gentleman exciting and rocking, a real "journey to Jah" as his website’s name announces.
Sportfreunde Stiller, which the sportsfriends' main pursuits are guitar-pop and indie-rock. Their sound is somewhat similar to Tocotronic and Die Sterne although Freunds’ less profound lyrics are more available to foreign speakers of German, as all their songs are written in their mother tongue.
Kaizers Orchestra, the sextet have recently become an elemental attraction with their terrific compound of Eastern and North-European folk and rock.
Babylon Circus an exciting and recognisable sound - which is so close to our hearts - and which most of us would identify with Les Negresses Vertes, Mano Negra or Manu Chao.

WORLD MUSIC

The list of bands confirmed so far shows that the Sziget World Music Stage - just like the previous years - gives none the less than the top of the international artists.

Salif Keita, from Mali, the king of afropop, descendant of the founder of Manding Empire, Sundyata Keita.
Rachid Taha, from France, who created rai-rock.
Manu Dibango, the saxophone legend from Kamerun with his whole band.
Värttinä, from Finland with full of witchcraft, the breathtakingly poetic settings of stories and sinister lyrics.
Cesaria Evora, the nostalgic, bittersweet pining is perfectly mirrored by the main musical style of the isles, morna, she is the "musical ambassador" of Cape Verde.
Skatalites, the best known ska band from Jamaica.
Tinariwen, mali blues characterized by psychedelic electric-guitars.
Mari Boine, the brave new messiah of Lappish musical culture in Norway.
Eddie Palmieri , the nine times Grammy award winning latin musician from New York bringing his salsa band.
Leningrad, form St. Petersburg with its smashing, elemental ska punk.
Fanfare Ciocarlia, the brass-band with the best Gipsy singer of the world.
Orchestre National de Barbés from France with the captivating and joyous musical blend of gnawa, rai, rock and reggae.
Sergent Garcia, combining raggamuffin and salsa and creating the genre "salsamuffin".

WAN2 STAGE

WAN2 stage, fit to the jubilee, has an absolute actual line up, with bands who can be seen first on this stage in Hungary.

GusGus is not simply an electronic band from Reykjavík, but one of the most well-known dance music formations.
Nitzer Ebb the synonym of the electronic-industrial and electric body music (EBM).
Hooverphonic, ambient trip hop music gained international recognition after their track "2Wicky" was featured in Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty which was followed a year later by their debut album New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular.
IAMX, the solo project of Chris Corner, a well known figure of the electronic and pop scene, who first reached prominence as the member of Sneaker Pimps in the mid-nineties.
Hyper, playing breakbeat live, Hyper’s suggestive dynamic performance is guaranteed by DJ Hyper,
Fun-Da-Mental is one of the most definitive and grooviest ethno-techno, ethno-electro acts of the nineties. The Asian-Brits are very groovy and very political, mixing the flavours of the East and the West, simultaneously witnessing electronic beats and the folk music of the Indian subcontinent.

PARTY ARENA

The fans of the genre cannot be disappointed while the best DJs of the world will spin the records this year.

DJ Hell (D) working 25 years now, he is part of the music elite. The last past years his presence along with his own publishing company, International Deejay Gigolos rumbled around the world.
Dave Clarke (UK) is one of the best known and well recognized DJ of the electronic music scene all over the world.
Goldie (UK) the English bad boy, does not need to be introduced. His debut in 1993 with Angel was defined as a new style by the British music media: drum 'n' bass.
Satoshi Tomiie (J / USA) is one of the most wanted Dj of the world, and he is the most successful house DJ of Japan for sure.
Plump DJ's (UK) - there is not any funnier more danceable music than what these guys make not matter if its about their own music or DJ sets. There are huge crowds on their performances all over the world and they never go home unsatisfied.
Timo Maas (D) , the German DJ producer, well known and always wanted all over the world.
Silicone Soul (UK) - The Scottish Craig Morrison & Graeme Reedie might not be best known but their project Silicone Soul rings the bell for every young house loving party fan.

HAMMERWORLD STAGE

The diverse world of metal music will be present at Hammerworld's mashing stage. Although the line-up is far from being full yet - the organizers are still expecting responses from many beating machines - this year’s party looks hammering again.

Killing Joke (UK) - Killing Joke, the cult best English rock band, celebrated its 25 birthday in 2005, though its history started at the end of the seventies already. The roaring music, the era marking albums, as well as the attitude of Killing Joke lead by Jez Coleman (vocal, keyboards) strongly influenced bands and trends, such as Nine Inch Nails and the industrial-rock scene of the 80s. Its story corresponds to that of Ministry similar in its concept as well.
Within Temptation (NL) - Undoubtedly one of the most popular rock acts in the Netherlands and Belgium, Within Temptation were formed in 1996 and have since regularly proved that they are worthy of their popularity. The band was founded by guitarist Robert Westerholt and vocalist Sharon den Adel; the key to their success lying in the kind of mix of hard rock and gothic music popularized by the US band Evanescence.
Negative (FIN) - Finland just can’t help giving the world more and more rock bands. Following HIM, the 69 Eyes and many others, Sziget 2007 will present Negative, the glam-rock band formed in 1997 in Tampere.

Further information: Gergo Salamon PR and Press Coordinator, Sziget Cultural Management 1399 Budapest, Pf. 694/245 Tel.: +36 1 372 0671 / Fax: +36 1 372 0685 www.szigetfestival.com

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