This might be the busiest weekend for festival-goers in Moscow: Two major events will be taking place at the same time. Newcomer Lastochka Festival will be at Luzhniki, and Park Live moved out of the park for good and is now being held at the increasingly popular Otkritie Stadium. And to start it all off — a couple of not-to-miss Thursday concerts. And don't forget to pack your umbrella — the weather has turned quite unpredictable this July.
Pinkshinyultrablast is a band from St. Petersburg better known abroad than at home. They play their own brand of shoe-gaze and rarely give concerts in Russia, since they are busy touring Europe. Pinkshinyultrablast received Band of the Year title at the Jagermeister Indie Awards last year, and since then they've released their second album, "Grandfathered." That's what they'll be presenting at their Thursday concert.
Krugozor. 3 Bumazhny Proezd. Metro Belorusskaya. Entrance 600 rubles ($10). Thurs. at 8 p.m.
Noize MC's Hip-Hopera is a collaboration between Noize MC, one of the leading rap/hip-hop artists in Russia, and Yury Kvyatkovsky, a popular theater director and creator of the cult Russian musical "Cops on Fire," another "hip-hopera." Noize MC wrote the lyrics as a modern version of the Ancient Greek myth about Orpheus and Eurydice. It should be especially interesting, considering that Noize MC has become an avid liberal opposition supporter in recent years.
Tesla 4000. 5 Shosse Entuziastov. Metro Aviamotornaya, Rimskaya. Free entrance. Register at staytrue.online. Thurs. at 7 p.m.
Lastochka, which means "swallow" in Russian, is an unlikely name for a music festival, but the line-up of this newcomer on the Moscow scene looks pretty good. Most of the acts have never been to Russia before, including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, an American duo famous for their mega hit "Thrift Shop" and LGBT rights anthem "Same Love." You will also have a chance to see a new R&B star from the U.K., FKA Twigs, as well as electropop band Icona Pop of "I love it" fame. The Manchester synth-pop duo Hurts, a regular fixture at Moscow festivals lately, will also perform. Lastochka will take place on the embankment at the Luzhniki complex and will feature various sports activities, from ping-pong and Frisbee to trapeze.
Luzhniki Stadium. 24 Ulitsa Luzhniki. Metro Sportivnaya. Tickets from 3,000 rubles ($46). Saturday from 5 p.m.
Park Live's headliner this year is a mammoth of a rock band: Red Hot Chili Peppers. They are coming back to Moscow with a new album, "The Getaway," just released a couple of weeks ago and already lauded as return to form. The second-day headliner is Lana Del Rey with her latest album "Honeymoon." Other bands of interest include Russian pop-rock veterans Splin, British soul star John Newman, and Irish indie rockers Two Door Cinema Club, who have visited Moscow before.
Otkritie Arena stadium. 69 Volokolamskoye Shosse. Metro Spartak. Tickets from 3,500 rubles ($54). Sat.-Sun. from 4 to 10 p.m.. Thurs. at 7 p.m.. Thurs. at 7 p.m.
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