Tbilisi Open Air

Another year, another Tbilisi Open Air festival: this time near the Tbilisi Sea with warm weather accompanying many massively popular bands and musicians such as Placebo, Archive, Black Label Society, Beth Hart, The BearFox, and Zemfira, playing to a varied audience throughout the five-day festival, July 3-7.

This year’s Tbilisi Open Air was bigger than ever with more than 70 musicians playing live and delivering on their promise to provide an incredible and unforgettable experience for the twenty thousand strong crowd.

The Festival had two main stages on which artists played nonstop. Rock and Pop music shifted to Electronic when midnight came, and shifted back to Rock and Pop in the morning. Each day had its own genre, from Pop Rock to Progressive Rock to Heavy Metal to Blues to Alternative Rock. Sticking with Open Air tradition, aside from the popular bands, new musicians were welcomed to try and pave their way to fame as “Newcomers.” This year it was particularly interesting to see some new bands choose to play supposedly “dead” Punk music- very popular back in the 70s and then again in the late 1990s and early 2000s with “Pop Punk” when bands such as “The Clash” and “Sex Pistols” revolutionized the music industry. Perhaps the next “The Clash” was playing on the stage of this year’s Tbilisi Open Air- we saw it first!

“Placebo” unsurprisingly earned the most attention this year, playing both old and new compositions and delivering with energy. As always, the band took special care of its listeners and asked them to “look after your brothers and sisters around you, give each other space and let each other breath. Let’s enjoy this evening without any casualties!” The organizers noted on facebook that apparently “Placebo” will be donating half of their fee from the festival to the people affected by the flood of 13 June.

Another internationally famous band, “Archive,” said that they were pleasantly shocked by the audience and their excitement and expressed their wish to play in Tbilisi again soon.

The Tbilisi Open Air festival has been around since 2009. It has a broad appeal, entertaining everyone from hipsters to goths, all there to break free from everyday life. After all, music does break us free, just as the Open Air organizers told the audience: “This year’s Open Air confirmed that the festival is going to get bigger and bigger every year. It was one of the best five days and thank you all for contributing and being so beautiful. Thank you very much and we promise you that we won’t stop growing and bringing you more beautiful music. We love you! Remember, music breaks you free!”

George Abashvili