Skopje, 30 May 2024 (MIA) - The 23rd edition of OFFest will be held June 6-9 in three venues in Skopje - the National Opera and Ballet, Youth Cultural Center (MKC), and the Cinematheque - and will feature eight concerts and two documentary screenings.

OFFest organizer Oliver Belopeta told a press conference on Thursday that the festival has one basic concept that never changes.

"The festival has one basic concept that does not change, and that is to be a festival of big stars of global music," Belopeta said.

He added that OFFest has a tradition of presenting one Macedonian group each year.

"We make careful selections from what is available in Macedonia, above all, something that we think can find its way to Europe in the future. This year that choice is the band KALATA," Belopeta noted.

The festival opens on Thursday (June 6) with concerts by BOMBINO, one of the most important representatives of the celebrated "desert blues," and South African septet BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness), known for their Afro-psychedelic trance and impressive live performances.

Part of the festival will be a mix of Melanesian, Indian, African influences and European folk with elements of improvised music by the Dutch sextet BOI AKIH, combined with the original and powerful sound of French-Ethiopian super-group KUTU.

VICENTE AMIGO will present his fascinating work, which brought him world fame and made him a reference in flamenco guitar today, organizers said.

The festival closes on Sunday (June 9) with concerts by the Polish string quartet VOŁOSI with their original mix of rock, jazz, ambient, and film music influences, as well as local up-and-coming neofolk band KALATA, and the famous Serbian world music collective NAKED.

The pre-festival programme includes screenings of two documentaries: Cesaria Evora and Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion. ssh/ad/

Photo: MIA