The Year's Best in Music Festivals

Bol was this year's biggest success.

Jan. 6, 2020

Bol offered one of the few opportunities to hear alternative music both from Russia and from around the world. Anastasia Shub / Bol Fest

Bol (Pain) is one of the youngest music festivals in Moscow and one of the few opportunities to hear alternative music both from Russia and from around the world. For the past two years it has been held at the ZIL Cultural Center, a constructivist masterpiece designed by Vesnin brothers in the 1930s. In 2019 the line-up featured The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Cloud Nothings, about a dozen indie Russian musicians, including Pasosh, GSh (formerly known as Glintshake), and Aigel, electronic hip-hop duet from Tatarstan. Praised by critics, Bol also received the Jager Music Award for the best event of 2019.

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