Tbilisi Open Air
Music festival in Tbilisi, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tbilisi Open Air is an annual international music festival, with the emphasis on electronic and rock music, first held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 15–17 May 2009. After that the festival is organized each year and is widely considered the biggest music festival in the Caucasus region. The festival mainly maintains several-day outdoor event format.
41°43′21″N 44°47′33″E
| Tbilisi Open Air | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Various |
| Dates | 2009, 2011–present |
| Locations | Tbilisi, Georgia 41°43′21″N 44°47′33″E |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Founders | AlterVision Group |
| Website | www |
As the organizers of Tbilisi Open Air clarify, "the defining idea behind the festival is freedom. This is freedom from stress, clichés, social controls, freedom to create and express, freedom to experience what is valued by every single one of us as individuals".[1]
It was first held as an alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, which Georgia was disqualified from because of the political message of their song "We Don't Wanna Put In".[2]
2023
The 2023 edition was held on 23–25 June. The traffic of the festival was around 80,000, with around 30,000 festival-goers attending each day.
23 June
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Main Stage
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Eye Stage
Zion Garden
Singer Stage
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24 June
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Main Stage |
Eye Stage
Zion Garden
Singer Stage
|
25 June
2022
The 2022 edition was held on 24–26 June and it was attended by more than 80,000 people. That broke the previous record and TOA 2022 became the most attended commercial music event in the history of Georgia. The festival supported Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war that broke out that year, through donating part of the ticket and merch sales to the Ukrainian cause, supporting Ukraine through all media and communication channels, inviting pro-Ukrainian acts, etc.
24 June
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Main Stage
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Eye Stage
Garden Stage
Singer Stage
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25 June
|
Main Stage
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Eye Stage
Garden Stage
Singer Stage
|
26 June
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Main Stage
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Eye Stage
Zion Garden
Singer Jazz Stage
|
2020–2021
In 2020, Tbilisi Open Air was set to be held from 26 June to 28 June, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was cancelled.
In 2021, TOA again declined to hold the festival.
2019
In 2019, TOA was held on the Lisi Wonderland field and went on for 3 days, with 4 stages operating. Total attendance was around 55,000. The festival dates coincided with the 20 June Tbilisi Riots. In light of those events, many statements were made by the festival promoters and artists from the festival stage.
21 June
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Main Stage
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Eye Stage
Garden Stage
Singer Jazz Stage
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22 June
23 June
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Main Stage
|
Eye Stage
Zion Garden
Singer Jazz Stage
|
2018
In 2018, TOA was held on Lisi Wonderland and had a 3-day line-up. Around 70 artists performed on the festival. A new stage, Eye Stage, was devoted to techno/house music. Also a new space, Singer Jazz Stage, was devoted to mostly jazz artists. Total attendance was around 45,000.
22 June
23 June
|
Main Stage
|
Eye Stage
Zion Garden
Singer Jazz Stage
|
24 June
|
Main Stage
|
Eye Stage
Zion Garden
Singer Jazz Stage
|
2017
In 2017, TOA was held on Lisi wonderland and had a 3-day line-up with around 40 artists. Around 30,000 persons attended the festival.
16 June
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Main Stage
|
Golden Stage
Zion Garden
|
17 June
|
Main Stage
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Golden Stage
Zion Garden
|
18 June
|
Main Stage
|
Golden Stage
Zion Garden
|
2016
In 2016, TOA presented a 3-day line-up with over 60 artists. The festival had 3 stages: Main stage, LTFR/Night stage and Pirate Bay stage. Total attendance was over 30,000. Festival was held on 29–31 July, on a location near Lisi Lake, which received nickname "Lisi Wonderland".
29 July
30 July
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Main Stage
|
LTFR/Night Stage
Pirate Bay Stage
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31 July
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Main Stage
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LTFR/Night Stage
Pirate Bay Stage
|
2015
In 2015, TOA presented a 5-day line-up with over 60 artists. This was by far the biggest musical event that had ever happened in Caucasus or Middle Earth and the festival broke all records in social media, having three times more feedback than in 2013. Also this was the first time when besides the main stage, two additional stages were built: golden stage and Bassiani stage. Attendance was over 50,000, which was also a record for the whole region.
3 July
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Main Stage
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Golden Stage
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4 July
5 July
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Main Stage
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Golden Stage
|
6 July
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Main Stage
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Golden Stage
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7 July
|
Main Stage
|
Golden Stage
|
2014
In 2014 the festival returned to three-day outdoor festival format. Total attendance was 21,000. Although criticized for a smaller line-up than in former years, the organizers announced this was "a decision essential to switch back to the fields and prepare for 2015, which should be the biggest event both by line-up and scale". Due to heavy rain on the second day of the festival, Chinawoman and Lapalux were cancelled on 7 June and were added to the 8 June line-up.
6 June
- Nino Katamadze
- Nikakoi
- Gravity
- Ara
- Lasha Kicks
- The Black Marrows
7 June
- Oimactta
- Lapalux
- Chinawoman
- Alina Orlova
- Loudspeakers
- Scratch the Floor
- The Jetbird
- The Pulse
8 June
- Nochniye Snaiperi
- Green Room
- Kung Fu Junkie
- The Bearfox
- Electric Appeal
- Weekend Pop
2013
In 2013 the festival was held in the Dinamo Arena Stadium. Total attendance was 19,000. With Deep Purple as headliner, the line-up was the biggest happening in the region and received a lot of local and foreign media interest, especially from Armenia, Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Despite this, after the event the organizers of the festival stated their opinion that Tbilisi Open Air belonged more to outdoor fields than stadiums or buildings. "We received invaluable experience, but the heart of the festival stays with the fields", stated organizer Achiko Guledani. "Next time we will try to accept the challenge to bring even bigger line-up there."
5 June
2012
The 2012 event was held on Tbilisi Valley at the outskirts of the city. Headliner of the festival was legendary Russian band DDT, which caused a lot of local interest. Total attendance was over 50,000, which remains as a record not only in Georgia, but in the whole Caucasus region.
2 June
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|
3 June
- DDT
- Dub FX
- Transmitter
- Plus Master
- Rema
- Zurgi
- Loudspeakers
2011
2009
The 2009 event was held in Tbilisi, on Sharden Street (15 May) and on local hippodrome (16–17 May). Total attendance was 35,000. As it was the first big happening since 1980 Tbilisi Rock Festival, the festival was covered by foreign media: Times Online, Reuters, El Mundo, Corriere della Sera, Associated Press, Nouvel Observateur etc. 23 bands from nine countries participated in the festival. It stimulated the local music business and boosted the numbers of new artists.
15 May
- Transglobal Underground
- The Black & Reds
- Cheese People
- The Travelling Band
- Play Paranoid
- Smile
16 May
- Jazzanova Live feat. Paul Randolph
- ANDY
- Curry And Coco
- Laki Lan
- The Haggis Horns
- Motel Connection
- Keti Orjonikidze And Dr. Saga's Funk Rock Project
- The Dhol Foundation
17 May
- Rook And The Ravens
- Brooklyn
- String
- Cynic Guru
- The Blue Van
- Dubstepler
- Ten Bears
- Stephane & 3G
- Fred Falke
Camping
In 2012 Tbilisi Open Air started allowing tent camping as an option for festival lodging. The campground site is adjacent to the venue grounds and has its own entrance from the venue. Festival campers come from different countries.
Weather
The festival is held most often in June. Temperatures during the festival's history have ranged from 25 °C in May to 32 °C in June. Tbilisi has mostly welcoming weather in summer and the same holds true for the event.
Management
Tbilisi Open Air is run by Altervision Group, which mainly consists of former and active musicians/producers. The first concept of the festival was created by Achiko Guledani, Vaho Babunashvili, Irakli Nadareishvili and Beqa Japaridze in 2009. Nowadays the decision-making board of Tbilisi Open Air consists of 7 people. The festival is booked by David Tsintsadze.