Fresh air, warm weather, music and art – summer and festivals go hand-in-hand. In the second part of our two-part guide to festivals this summer, we round up the top open-air music and arts events outside Moscow.
June 2-June 14
Platonov Festival
Voronezh
Named after Soviet writer and poet Andrei
Platonov, who was born and lived much of
his life in Voronezh, Platonov Festival was
launched seven years ago to support projects
based on the writer’s works. One of this
year’s highlights is the opera “Birthplace
of Electricity,” which will premiere at the
festival’s opening (June 2). International
participants this year include theaters from
Argentina, Hungary and Israel. Some events
are free of charge and open to the public, like
the famous street theater parade. There’s also
a book fair, an ethnic music festival in the
city park and several exhibitions. http://en.platonovfest.com
June 9-11
Tolstoy Weekend
Yasnaya Polyana, Tula Region
This year, Tolstoy Weekend will be held from
June 9-11, during the days when the Yasnaya
Polyana museum-estate marks its anniversary.
As the estate of Leo Tolstoy, the most
famous Russian writer of all time, Yasnaya
Polyana has had a long connection with
theater. The highlight of the festival will be
Green Stick, an immersive journey performance
by Moscow’s LIQUID theater and
actors from the nearby city of Tula, which
will cover the entire territory of Yasnaya
Polyana. Although most theater productions
at the festival are based on the works of Leo
Tolstoy, there will be exceptions. Dmitry
Brusnikin’s Workshop will present Stories
of History, a series of performances devoted
to the role of the individual in history, a
question raised repeatedly by Tolstoy in his
novels. http://tolstoyweekend.ru
June 16-18
Art-Ovrag
Vyksa, Nizhny Novgorod region
Art-Ovrag (Art Ravine), the largest city art
festival outside Moscow with more than
10,000 visitors, will be held in June in
Vyksa, 360 kilometers east of Moscow. For
seven years Vyksa has been turned into a
different city during the festival: visually,
culturally and socially. Art-Ovrag has also
been involving more and more locals in its
activities. This year’s highlight is a unique
park drifting on water, with art objects by
French land artist Jean-Philippe PoiréeVille
and Russian artist Leonid Tishkov,
recent winner of the Innovation award as
artist of the year, as well architects from
the Wowhaus bureau and others. Street
artist Misha Most will present the world’s
largest graffiti work, covering about 10,000
square meters, while up-and-coming director
Yury Muravitsky will be responsible
for theatrical performances. There will
also be workshops and lectures on urban
studies, contemporary art, photography,
molecular cuisine and a special program
for children. http://artovrag-fest.ru
July 7-9
Alfa Future People
Nizhny Novgorod Region
For a fourth year in a row, Alfa Future People
will take place at a secret airport on the banks
of the Volga, near the town of Bolshoye Kozino,
a half-hour train ride from Nizhny Novgorod.
The headliners are GusGus, an electronic band
from Reykjavík, one of the few Icelandic musicians
of global renown after Bjork. Also on the
bill are Infected Mushroom, a dub-step duo
from Israel and frequent visitor to Russia, and
Pendulum, an Australian/British drum and bass
and electronic rock band. The Russian music
scene will be represented by both heavyweights,
such as Mujuice, as well as relative newcomers
like Soul Surfers from Nizhny Novgorod and
the Kito Jempere Live Band from St. Petersburg. http://afp.ru
July 7-9
STEREOLETO
St. Petersburg
STEREOLETO (Stereo Summer) will once
again take place on Yelagin Island, one of the
outer islands of the Neva delta. The whole
island is a park with a royal palace as its
main attraction. The headliner is U.N.K.L.E., a
British band that has gone through so many
incarnations, its style is rather hard to define.
U.N.K.L.E. is planning to release a new album
titled “The Road” and the St. Petersburg concert
is part of a tour to support it. There’s also
General Elektriks from France, which plays a
mix of indie rock, jazz and electronica, as well
as Griby, a Ukrainian pop sensation whose
song “Tayet Lyod” is breaking all records for a
Russian-language song on YouTube. http://bestfest.ru/en
July 21-23
Archstoyanie
Nikola-Lenivets, Kaluga Region
The Archstoyanie Festival has been taking
place near the village of Nikola-Lenivets in the
Kaluga region, 200 kilometers southwest of
Moscow, for more than a decade. The theme of
the 12th edition of this international festival
of landscape objects is “How to Live?” Founded
by Nikolai Polissky, one of the leading land
artists in Russia, Archstoyanie showcases the
latest achievements in architecture and land
art. This year the participants will include
Recycle Group, one of the artists at the Russia
Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, as well
as Alexander Brodsky, famous for his “paper
architecture.” NII (Nauka i Iskusstvo), the
team behind a trendy electronic club of the
same name, will curate the music program. http://arch.stoyanie.ru
July 28-30
Present Perfect Festival
St. Petersburg
Only three years old, the Present Perfect Festival
(PPF) has already made a name for itself
as an authority on Russia’s electronic music
scene. Taking place at the sprawling Street
Art Museum, a relatively new and trendy
venue, the festival looks like the set of a sci-fi
film. This season, the museum’s exhibition
focuses on the centenary of the Russian Revolution
in 1917. Big international names will
play the main stage on July 29, including The
Black Madonna from the U.S., Ben UFO and
Daniel Avery from the UK, as well as Atom
TM x Tobias from Denmark. The organizers
have also announced several parallel events
that will take place over the weekend.http:// runited.ru/ppf/2017
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