"We are free today. Under the sky. Free every day. Free today, because yesterday has passed, and tomorrow hasn’t come. Live right now! Today's day will never happen again!" - the DJ from Bishkek shouts a spell into the microphone, trying to stir up the crowd, softened by the harsh heat.
We are in an amazing place. On the one hand - snow-white peaks of Tien-Shan, on the other – cool and crystal clear mountain lake Issyk-Kul. A place where it was great to be: the wild southern coast, which is chosen mainly by tourists who run away from comfort and expensive hotels, dusty steppe and extreme authenticity - if you have never been to Central Asia, then this is an ideal option to get to know the region.
KOLFEST (28-29-30 JULY 2023) is a cozy festival that attracts up to three thousand people. The organizers say that this is the optimal amount of the audience to preserve the atmosphere and not spoil the magic. The festival is being held for the fourth time in 2023, and bands and DJs from all over the world come to it: India, Great Britain, France, Germany, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe - such a list of countries in the center of Europe is undreamt of, and therefore even if you do not know any name, you're still curious to listen to their music
The main festival stage is located right on the shore of a huge lake, which could be mistaken for the sea, if there were no white mountain peaks on the opposite shore. It looks especially impressive at sunset, when the entire festival zone is flooded with sunlight, and Instagrammers shoot their content to catch the best lighting of the day.
In 200 meters from the main stage, there is an abandoned two-story brick building, which, against the background of mountains and steppes, looks as post-apocalyptic as possible: at night, a wild rave is held here. DJs from Bishkek are stationed on the second floor with the power of sound and light and make the beauty of the sunrise until the last member of the crowd is on his feet. And if you take a break from dancing for a minute, you can see the beautiful moonlight path on the lake and spend the rest of the night watching this beauty.
In general, there are many reasons to visit the festival, and this is just the tip of the multi-layered cake called KOLFEST. There are three days of fun here: they start on Friday evening and end at sunset on Sunday, so the party takes up the entire weekend. Every day is a separate concept: on Friday, live performers indie and rock bands entertain the public, Saturday smoothly turns from a hangover party into a selfless rave, and Sunday gives an opportunity to leisurely gather and go to Bishkek when the sun goes down.
A food court on the festival site is mainly done by local residents. And they do it well! If you want to get acquainted with traditional Kyrgyz cuisine as quickly as possible, feel free to order beshbarmak, lagman or kuordak here, drink all the aromatic tea and go to the festival - dinner for two here will cost about 600 soms (about 8 dollars). There is a bar where they pour iced liquor, cold local beer, mix cocktails or make refreshing lemonade. The prices are quite democratic, although the local ones still complain a little that it could be cheaper.
Coming back to our abandoned brick building, it is where at night people go to raves, but during the day you can see contemporary art from Kyrgyzstan and neighboring countries. It looks scary in places, but overall it's a lot of cool and bold ideas. Here is a man from the newspaper, who is glued to the TV screen under the magnet of sweet propaganda. Here is street art from local stars under the pseudonym Chervi, and here are strange figures with mirrors instead of faces.
Half of all Kol Fest visitors are tourists from different countries. The geography is impressive: here you can meet lazy Frenchmen, who have settled in a tent and are discussing the plan for the next evening in shorthand; the ambassador of Great Britain, who stayed in the country with his family and is now lazily sipping beer, listening to another DJ set; his compatriots are Englishmen, who crawl out of the tent and are drawn to go to the bar for treatment after the night's adventures; guests from India, who marvel at the scenery and get to know the locals.
Overall, the festival is a place to be if you happen to travel to Kyrgyzstan. But we are very soon the festival can become one of the main reasons people are travelling to this beautiful undiscovered country. The festival allows you to learn about the culture but also learn the new and quickly growing contemporary arts and music of this very unique place and people.
KOLFEST is a cozy festival that attracts up to three thousand people. The organizers say that this is the optimal amount of the audience to preserve the atmosphere and not spoil the magic. The festival is being held for the fourth time in 2023, and bands and DJs from all over the world come to it: India, Great Britain, France, Germany, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe - such a list of countries in the center of Europe is undreamt of, and therefore even if you do not know any name, you're still curious to listen to their music
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