Podalpski sevdah in Križanke

By chance, I come across an ad for a concert called Podalpski sevdah. The title comes from a humorous name for the Ljubljana band tAman (successor of the group Dertum). Within the project “Zgodilo se je čisto blizu nas – It happened very close to us”, which marks the 30th anniversary of the arrival of refugees from BiH, the above-mentioned concert was also organized. Members of the groups Dertum and Vali, which were formed during this period and were important in the formation of the New Sevdah, are reuniting for this concert. Vlado Kreslin, a fan of sevdalinka, and Damir Imamović, the most prominent representative of Novi sevdah, join them on stage as guests.

I bought two tickets online (€ 23) and invited my mother along. On the day of the concert, we were a little before 8 pm in front of Križanke. I met Goran and saw some more familiar faces inside. In the Lobby, there was a concert with free seating. We sat somewhere in the middle, all the seats were filled by the beginning of the concert.

In the introduction, they describe the formation of both groups in the refugee centers (Dertum) and at Vodnik’s homestead (hence the name Vali). Some moved on, some returned to Sarajevo, and others stayed in Slovenia. After 20 years, they all came together again.

With the song, Tamburalo momče uz tamburu, Vali opened the concert (6 female vocals, 5 guitarists, and a drummer). This is followed by a performance by Aida Čorbadžić and Maida Džinić Poljak.

The next two songs are sung by Vlado Kreslin, accompanied by the remaining members (Žute dunje, Telal viče). Saša Tabaković also takes the stage for one song.

With the song “Što te nema” sung by Aida Čorbadžić (today the diva of the Sarajevo Opera), she remembers Farah Tahirbegović, a member who died prematurely.

Damir Imamović now dominated the stage with his strong voice during a solo performance, initially with two “refugee” songs. He is soon joined by Vlado, and they concluded with the song Vlado i Dado.

Finally, all the performers are on stage performing the last few songs. After the end, the audience did not have enough, and musicians were lured to the stage twice more with persistent applause. Last song with my mom I listened to from the parking lot. After 2 hours, it was really over.

It was definitely a beautiful evening full of emotions. The performers were relaxed and connected on the stage, and the audience responded nicely. I am glad that I went to this event with my mother, who helped the refugees (including the performers) through the humanitarian association Merhamet. As a high school kid, I also saw them myself at one of the performances from decades ago. From something as bad as war and exile, something so beautiful was born (New Sevdah).

Zgodilo se je čisto blizu nas – It happened very close to us

Two days later I went to the gallery Match – Vžigalica to see an exhibition “It happened very close to us” as part of the project. Here you can see personal memories of 45 individuals, media reporting, and other documentary material presenting stories about leaving home in a time of war and staying in Slovenia.

Now sadly this topic is again here and hopefully, we will respond better to the situation.