In the hottest days of summer, another interesting event is taking place in our city – the original music radio festival “Music from Batumi.” It is being held for the second time this year with the funding of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Ajara. It is also gratifying that several representatives of the private sector stand by the festival.
The radio festival is held outdoors, the works are performed live, and broadcast directly on Ajara Radio. It can be listened to in both the mountains and the lowlands. During the day, two participants perform (either a group or an individual performer).
As the event organizers, project authors, and hosts Teona Zedania and Ilia Shavishvili told us, the festival promotes original music and, at the same time, is held to support author-performers.
“Our festival has become a kind of bridge between the state and musicians. Its main mission was for this or that author to write new music, new works, and that’s exactly what happened – this year we had more choices than last year. Last year it was difficult to find original music authors who would satisfy a 40-minute performance. We dedicate exactly that much time to each group or individual performer. This year, for the sake of the festival and with motivation, considering that there is a place where they will play for the public, new albums have appeared. We hope that in the future the number of participants will increase even further. The festival has also become international in scope, with Swedish-Georgian singer Sabina Chanturia Vamling participating,” said Teona Zedania.
The festival opened on August 17 and will close tomorrow. Every day, from 7:30 PM, author-performers appear on a specially arranged stage in front of the Ajara Public Broadcaster’s Ajara Radio building.
The festival was opened by singer Sabina Chanturia Vamling. Her work is heard on British and American radio stations, and from now on, it will also be broadcast on Ajara Radio.
Sabina was born in Sweden; she was 12 years old when she first came to Georgia. Her father is from Sokhumi, and her mother is Swedish. She says she has two homelands – Georgia and Sweden. They also have an apartment in Batumi. She comes to Georgia quite often. She has been singing since childhood. While here, she learned about the festival and decided to participate.
“I’ve been writing music for a long time. What I performed today, both the lyrics and the music, are mine. My songs are also uploaded on YouTube and broadcast on radio channels. I’m glad that they are now being heard on Ajara Radio as well,” said Sabina, who captivated the audience with her pleasant voice and performance.
The second part was dedicated to the group “Luqaro,” consisting of Luka Sebiskveradze (guitar synthesizer), Nika Gogiashvili (guitar), Noe Chelidze (bass guitar), and Sandro Potskhverashvili (drums).
“I want to thank Ilo and Teona very much, and especially the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Ajara, for supporting such a good project. The result is not long in coming – the number of listeners is increasing, and these are not just Batumi residents. I’m glad that everyone likes what ‘Music from Batumi’ offers them. The location is also well chosen – Memed Abashidze Street is the heart of the city. The content of the event is also beneficial for Batumi. Music unites everyone, and even more so when it is good and tasteful,” said musician Natalia Oragvelidze.
This festival is a celebration of original music. Live performance gives you unforgettable emotions, you hear something new, different, and this emotion stays with you for a long time.