Summer at its festival best

This summer, Ukraine offers plenty of opportunities for rocking it outside at very competitive prices. Here are the Kyiv Post’s picks:

The Best City.UA (rock)
Dnipropetrovsk
June 29 - July 1
Hr 390-890 for one day, Hr 990-2,290 for the whole festival
Hr 300-450 for 3 days camping
Hr 300-450 for 3 days parking
Lineup: Evanescence, White Lies, The Rasmus, Shifty’s Crazy Town, Joachim Garraud, Apollo 440, Brainstorm, DDT, Bumbox, Voply Vidopliasova and others.
www.thebestcity.ua

When The Best City.UA announcements first surfaced in early spring, some thought it was an early April Fool’s Day joke because this sounded too good to be true. A debutante on the festival scene, the three-day event promised the strongest lineup Ukraine has ever seen.
The location picked for it was Novoselitsa Park, just 12 kilometers away from Dnipropetrovsk, an eastern Ukrainian city. The festival will have two stages, the main one and the lounge one.
The promised cherry on the cake is a big screen on the festival grounds that will broadcast the final game of Euro 2012 football championship, which will take place on July 1 in Kyiv.
A two-ways bus ticket from Kyiv to the festival is available for Hr 350. Another option is to take a train to Dnipropetrovsk and get to Novoselitsa by a marshrutka, or minibus, that runs from the central bus station located next to the railway station.

Kazantip (electronic)
Popovka, Crimea
August 8-11
60 euros per day, 160 euros for festival (price can change)
Lineup to be announced
www.kazantipa.net

Kazantip Republic, or Republic Z, is going to open its borders for the incredible 20th time this summer. In two decades not only has Kazantip become the biggest post-Soviet electronic music festival, but got a reputation of a place with no rules, with drugs featuring heavily on the agenda.
The festival has moved a few times, and is now held in Popovka near Yevpatoria, in western Crimea. The festival’s symbol is a yellow retro-style suitcase. If you register your suitcase in advance, it will give you a free entrance to the festival grounds.

Prosto Rock (rock)
Odesa
June 12
Hr 600-800
Lineup: Linkin Park, Garbage, Bumbox.

Prosto Rock was held for five years between 1997-2002, and is going to be reborn this summer. The small lineup is supposed to be compensated for by Linkin Park, a rock band with a somewhat dwindling popularity abroad, but with a strong backing among the Ukrainian music lovers. Moreover, Prosto Rock is going to be the band’s first performance in Ukraine ever.
A two-ways bus ticket from Kyiv to the festival is available for Hr 350.

Jazz Koktebel (jazz)
Koktebel, Crimea
August 29 - September 2
Hr 445-545 (current price, can grow up)
Hr 1205 ticket includes two-ways bus trip from Kyiv
Lineup to be announced
www.koktebel.info

Before and during the Soviet times, the small town of Koktebel, located near Feodosiya in eastern Crimea, was known as a bohemian resort cherished by the intelligentsia. Despite the slow erosion of this former shine, the place became the summer jazz capital of Ukraine. Jazz Koktebel emerged in 2003, and in various years welcomed Nino Katamadze, De Phazz, Shibusashirazu Orchestra, Red Snapper, Jamala and Katya Chilly. This year’s lineup is yet to be announced.

Trypilske Kolo (ethnic, pagan)
Rzhyschev, Kyiv region
June 28 - July 1
Hr 110-130 if buying in May, Hr 130-180 if buying in June. Student discounts
Atmasfera, Osimira, Illaria, Kozak System Haydamaky, Krunk, Art Moldova and others
www.tkfest.com

Trypilske Kolo is an ethnic festival with pagan motives. It was first held five years ago, and its theme was water. Each festival was to be devoted to one of the elements. The festival’s history cycle was supposed to restart with water. But a new team of organizers took over, and a new version of Trypilske Kolo will take place this year, themed as the parade of all elements. The festival is conveniently located close to Kyiv - just 85 kilometers away.
Free marshrutkas will go to the festival grounds place from Vydubychi bus station, or avtovokzal, in Kyiv.

Kazantip electronic music festival is one of many Ukraine wil have in the summer. Kazantip is held in western Crimea, but various rock, folk and heavy metal festivals will be scattered all over Ukraine. (UNIAN)

Artpole (ethnic rock)
Unizh, Ivano-Frankivsk region
July 12-16
Hr 280
Lineup: Transglobal Underground, Mitch & Mitch, Volosi, Jaakkoo Laitinen & Väärä Raha, Airtist, Portmone, DahaBraha, Perkalaba and others
www.artpolefest.org

Another ethnic festival, previously known as Sheshory. Apart from music, it will feature elements of theater. Also, famous Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan is preparing a performance. Master classes and movie sessions are also a part of the program. Artpole is proud of its location, a place near the small town of Unizh with breathtaking landscapes. The festivals’ special feature is the presence of bands from the neighboring Poland, Hungary and Belarus, as well as one band, Transglobal Underground, from UK. To get to Artpole, take a train to Ivano-Frankivsk or Ternopil, then a festival bus.

Alfa Jazz (jazz)
Lviv
June 1-3
Hr 120-500 per day
Lineup: Kenny Garrett Quintet, Richard Bona, Mansound, Pikkardiyska Tertsiya, Scott Henderson Trio, Gino Vannelli, Cassandra Wilson and others
www.en.alfajazzfest.com

Alfa Jazz Festival is the youngster of the jazz festivals in Ukraine. It will be taking place for the second time this year, but it already has an impressive international lineup with bands coming from USA, Canada, UK, Cameroon and Ukraine. The three-day fest will be highlighted by performance of Cassandra Wilson, a jazz singer with two Grammies among her trophies. All events of the festival will take place in great locations in downtown Lviv, so no transport problems are expected. It takes five hours to reach Lviv from Kyiv by a fast train.

Metal Heads Mission (heavy metal)
Solnyshko entertainment base, Yevpatoria, Crimea
August 2-4
Hr 400 in June, Hr 450 in July, Hr 500 if bought at the festival
Lineup: Gorguts, Nile, Deranged, Cenotaph, Datura, Dead Shape Figures and others
www.mhm-fest.com/en

This year, Metal Heads Mission will be held in Ukraine for the 13th time, and the organizers call it a jubilee. The most popular heavy metal festival in Ukraine and one of the most prominent ones in the former Soviet countries, it is held at the entertainment base called Solnyshko, a diminutive childish name for “sun”, just nine kilometeres away from sunny Yevpatoria. This year’s headliners will be Nile and Gorguts from USA and Canada, and the whole lineup is huge, bringing together over 30 bands from Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Austria, France, Moldova and Turkey.
To get to the festival, take a train to Simferopol, and then go to Yevpatoria by bus or marshrutka, to the Solnyshko stop. Direct trains to Yevpatoria also run during the summer, but the schedule is yet to be determined.