A Different Kind of Festival

9:53 pm

Gljevstock (or Gljevstok) is a music festival held at an isolated location in the Central Dalmatia countryside, near the village of Gljev. It started off in 2010, and the original idea behind it was to gather young local people to celebrate Labour Day in an unconventional way, somewhere far away from “civilization”. Some local musicians and their friends pictured it as a celebration of music, peace and togetherness, and took it upon themselves to organize such an occasion. Of course, the name was generated from the more than evident association with the Woodstock festival - beyond doubt, the greatest festival of all times.

It did not take Gljevstock long to surpass the boarders of local, youth-intended, and underground. With each succeeding year, more and more different-aged people from all over Croatia (and abroad) started visiting the festival, and its lineup quickly expanded to include performers from all over the region. In time, the festival also ceased to be directly associated with Labour Day, mostly due to the fact that May proved to be quite moody when it comes to weather conditions. Actually, 2015 was the first time the festival was held in June.

Unfortunately, though, because a force majeure had evidently decided to send the greatest hail I have ever seen falling directly on Gljev on the afternoon of June 6, 2015.

Still, what is special about Gljevstock is that all the rain and hail we have had all these years have never managed to ruin the festival. The visitors apparently don’t mind seeking shelter in their tents and cars while waiting for the rainfall to stop. I think it is safe to say no one ever walked away from the venue because of some fresh mud. The people there just patiently let the rain do its thing, and continue hanging out as if nothing had happened. If someone’s tent or food gets ruined, there is always someone nearby to share theirs. No one ever gets left hungry, thirsty, or without a place to sleep in. Everything is shared, even with the people you have never seen before. And this feeling of togetherness can literary be felt in the air, I swear.

It gets especially beautiful when the night falls. The only lights at the venue (except for the ones on the stage) are the countless fires lit all around, and the stars in the sky. When the concert begins, you can see everyone laughing and dancing to the music, regardless of how good or bad it might be, as if they never wanted it to end. And when it does end, everyone gathers around the fires and continues singing along with their guitars, past the break of dawn.

I could go on about Gljevstock forever, but if I had to describe it in only a few short sentences, I would have to say:
Free concert. Free camping. No boundaries. No control. 24 hours of pure enjoyment and relaxation. And this doesn't even remotely describe it. What more can one ask for?

Below are a few photos I managed to take this year. There would have been more, but things tend to get out of hands at Gljevstock, you know.

You can find more at Gljevstok Official Facebook Page.