The 9th edition of Electric Castle debuted in Bonțida on July 19 for approximately 29,000 spectators from thousands of kilometres distant. The first day of the festival saw the rediscovery of the Banffy pitch, with all the organisers’ surprises and, for tradition, the first rain, short but enough to keep the atmosphere fresh until late at night. The festival’s “warming” party, Reel Party by BT, filled the Hangar stage with dancers to DJ Yoda’s top social media hits. Some of these were also identified in the more than 10,000 posts posted Home sweet home, the statement that welcomed festival participants on the panel that has become the most Instagramable site in the event. The San Holo DJ’s remix “The Next Episode” received over 300 YouTube views and was performed in the show by the Dutch musician.
All 12 festival scenes will begin on Thursday, with the first headliners on mainstages. George Ezra’s team is set to perform a full show at 22:00 after four days of travel from Upper Africa and 14 hours of staging in Bonțida. Macklemore brings a new album and an incredible midnight show to Romania for the first time. The HU, the pioneers of Mongolian music, Boy Harsher, an American darkwave band, and Emma Ruth Rundle, one of the most outstanding singers in the American underground, will be the Backyard stage’s biggest surprises.
EC Talks by E.On, where Alexandru Negrea, a digital marketing trainer, discusses artificial intelligence in marketing and communication, and Dumitru Gorzo, a controversial Romanian artist, parodies social concerns. The festival website has the full EC Talks programme.
www.electriccastle.ro has one-day Electric Castle 9 tickets.