Spirit of Burgas is a summer music festival

Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

 in the city of Burgas

Burgas

-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...

, on the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 coast of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. The first edition of the festival took place on 15–17 August 2008 and since then it has significantly grown in popularity, becoming one of the most prominent summer music festivals in Europe.

The premiere edition of the festival featured performers like The Sisters of Mercy

The Sisters of Mercy

The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...

 and Hot Club de Paris

Hot Club De Paris

Hot Club de Paris are an English band from Liverpool. They are signed to the London-based Moshi Moshi Records and released their debut album Drop It 'Til It Pops in October 2006...

 (15 August), Asian Dub Foundation

Asian Dub Foundation

Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...

, Pharoahe Monch

Pharoahe Monch

Pharoahe Monch is an American hip hop artist. He is known for his complex lyrics, complex delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.-Biography:...

 and Upsurt

Upsurt

Upsurt is a Bulgarian rap-band founded in the beginning of 1996 by childhood friends Itso Hazarta, Butch, Bat Ventsi and Panchev. Their first records were recorded in Sudibula studio in January 1996. After a while, Shlevi Panchev left the band and only three members remained...

 (16 August), Cradle of Filth

Cradle of Filth

Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...

, Kosheen

Kosheen

Kosheen are a British trip hop, breakbeat and rock group based in Bristol, England. The trio consists of producers Markee Substance and Darren Decoder , with singer and song writer Sian Evans...

 and Bonobo on the main stage. Besides the main stage, there were separate dance, music space, rock, DJ and Latino stages presenting well-known and aspiring artists alike. Among the more popular artists on the other stages were Chris Liebing

Chris Liebing

Chris Liebing is dj, producer, radio host of a weekly show and the driving force behind the labels CLR and Spinclub Recordings. His sound has continuously evolved during his dj career, always true to his Techno roots. He was one of the first djs that used the new possibilities in the course of the...

, Andy Cato

Andy Cato

Andy Cato is one half of the electronic dance band, Groove Armada, the other half being Tom Findlay. He is also involved with Rachel Foster in Weekend Players, another electronic dance group.-Early life:...

 of Groove Armada

Groove Armada

Groove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...

, King Roc of Ministry of Sound

Ministry of Sound

Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...

, Pendulum

Pendulum (band)

Pendulum is an Australian drum and bass and electronic rock band founded in 2002 in Perth by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul Harding.Swire and McGrillen were members of the rock band known as Xygen. After hearing Konflict's "Messiah" at a club, they were inspired to enter into the drum and...

, Wickeda

Wickeda

Wickeda is a Bulgarian rock band. It is quite popular in Bulgaria, and has occasionally topped the charts. Its style comprises punk, ska, reggae, funk and some traditional Bulgarian folk music elements...

 and Deep Zone Project.

The second edition of Spirit of Burgas took place on 14–16 August 2009, and featured Faith No More

Faith No More

Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...

, Fun Lovin' Criminals

Fun Lovin' Criminals

The Fun Lovin' Criminals is an American alternative hip hop / alternative rock group from New York City. Their musical style is primarily eclectic, covering styles such as hip hop, rock, funk, blues and jazz. Their songs often deal with life in New York City, as well as urban life in general...

, The Crystal Method

The Crystal Method

The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...

, Clawfinger

Clawfinger

Clawfinger is a rap metal band from Sweden and was one of the earliest bands to adopt this sound. Clawfinger is known for aggressive but melodic music and tackling political and anti-racist themes in their songs.-Band history:...

, Dreadzone

Dreadzone

Dreadzone are a British band whose music is an eclectic fusion of dub, reggae, techno, folk and rock. They have so far produced six studio albums and two live albums.-Career:...

, LTJ Bukem

LTJ Bukem

LTJ Bukem is the stage name used by the drum and bass musician, producer and DJ Danny Williamson . He and his record labels Good Looking and Looking Good Records are most associated with the jazzy, atmospheric side of drum and bass music....

, De Phazz

De Phazz

De Phazz is a downtempo jazz ensemble integrating modern turntablism and elements of soul, Latin, trip hop and drum and bass into a lounge music sound. De Phazz is led by Pit Baumgartner, a German producer who has varied the lineup of artists for every new album. Some regular members are Barbara...

, Sub Focus

Sub Focus

Nick Douwma, better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English Electronic Music record producer. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut album.-Chart success:...

, Alexander Kowalski

Alexander Kowalski

Alexander Kowalski is a popular German techno music artist.-Career:Kowalski was born in 1978 in Greifswald, Germany, and was raised in Grimmen. In 1986 he moved with his family to Berlin, where he began his musical career. Early influences on his work were Joey Beltram and Synewave, though he was...

, Speedy J

Speedy J

Speedy J , is a Dutch electronic music producer based in the city of Rotterdam. His breakthrough came with the release in 1992 of the minimal techno track Pullover...

, Mario Ranieri

Mario Ranieri

Mario Ranieri is an Austrian DJ, Producer and Label-owner. He plays gigs on big events like Awakenings, Creamfields, InQontrol or the Love Parade.- Biography :...

, and up and coming Australian alternative rock band The Monicans among others.

Spirit of Burgas is organized on Burgas' central beach, part of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coastline. White and golden sandy beaches occupy approximately 130 km of the 378 km long coast...

. Among its partners and sponsors are MTV Europe

MTV Europe

MTV Europe is a pan-European 24-hour entertainment cable and digital television network launched on August 1, 1987. Initially, the channel served all regions within Europe being one of the very few channels that targeted the entire European continent...

, who aired two specials about the festival in September 2008, Tuborg, Mobiltel

Mobiltel

Mobiltel , commonly known as M-Tel , is the first and largest GSM mobile phone operator in Bulgaria. M-Tel was founded in March 1994 by Mr...

, Jack Daniel's

Jack Daniel's

Jack Daniel's is a brand of sour mash Tennessee whiskey that is among the world's best-selling liquors. It is known for its square bottles and black label. As of November, 2007, one blogger was claiming that it was the best-selling whiskey in the world. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee by...

, Jacobs

Jacobs (coffee)

Jacobs is a brand of coffee that traces its beginnings to 1895 in Germany by Iohann Jacobs and is today marketed in Europe by Kraft Foods. Major markets are Austria, the Baltic countries, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Azerbaijan,...

, DSK Bank

DSK Bank

DSK Bank is a major Bulgarian bank. It has been owned by the Hungarian OTP Bank since 2003, being transformed into a joint-stock company in 1999, and was founded in 1951 as the country's savings bank....

 and others.

The 2010 edition took place on August 13, 14 and 15. The headliners are The Prodigy

The Prodigy

The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...

 and Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist...

, former leader of System of a Down

System of a Down

System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...

. As always events were carried out on the city beach, with a limited campsite places offered to visitors.

External links

• Spirit of Burgas website
• Official transport service