First international acts announced for 2025 Viljandi Folk Music Festival
The first international artists to confirm their participation at next year's Viljandi Folk Music Festival Viljandi are Glasgow-based five-piece Ímar and North Macedonian band Džambo Aguševi Orchestra. Trad.Attack! are among the first Estonian acts to be announced on next year's bill.
Ímar, a quintet with Irish, Scottish and Isle of Man roots, are one of Glasgow's hottest folk bands at the moment. Their 2016 debut "l'Air Mignonne (Canadian Sunshine)" became a global hit and they also won the Horizon Award for Best Emerging Act at the 2018 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
"Ímar has been a dream of ours for a long time, and now it has finally came true. I'm sure that those who are not yet familiar with their sound will have a captivating experience," said Viljandi Folk Music Festival Director Ando Kiviberg.
The second international act to confirm their place at next year's festival is Džambo Aguševi Orchestra, who are considered the most outstanding brass orchestra in the Balkans, bringing a new face to Balkan music with their 21st century brass fusion. Named one of the world's most exciting by Songlines magazine, Džambo Aguševi Orchestra's vibrant, exuberant, fun and innovative music brings a fresh perspective to Balkan music. Their album "Brasses For The Masses" has also won critical acclaim.
Viljandi Folk Musi Festival Program Director Tarmo Noormaa pointed out that Džambo Aguševi Orchestra are the only non-Serbian act to have won the Golden Trumpet Award at Serbia's world famous Guca Festival.
"This is the most important brass competition in the Balkans. This style of music, which evolved under the influence of Turkish, Balkan and Gypsy music, mainly in Serbia and North Macedonia, has now become a global phenomenon and it is the dream of every festival to have one of these 100 percent fired-up party bands. They are wildly good musicians – tradition, continuity, modernity alive and well – totally out of this world," said Noormaa.
The first Estonian performers have also confirmed their participation for the 2025 festival.
Trad.Attack!, who last year performed to a record-breaking crowd, will be back again and there will also be a unique Estonian – Scottish collaboration which sees Cätlin and Marko Mägi join forces with Finlay MacDonald and Ali Hutton.
The 32nd Viljandi Folk Music Festival will take place on July 24-27, 2025.
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Editor: Rasmus Kuningas, Michael Cole
