Keeping alive the tradition of the musical groups from Slovenian Istria, Vruja have greatly popularized and enhanced appreciation of the musical heritage of Istria over the last decades. The group's name, which derives from the Istrian dialect, translates as source, spring. The group is a fortuitous collective of both experienced artists, who are considered the pioneers in folk music revival, and up-and-coming musicians who grew up in an environment that fosters tradition.

Death metal group Vulvathrone from Murska Sobota has replaced many memberssince its creation. The band in the form of a quartet has performed with bands such as Dying Fetus, Napalm Death, Nile, Incantation, Lividity, Abrasive, Sanatorium and others. They have performed at festivals, the likes of Metaldays, Metalfest, Austria, Rockmarathon Hungary, among others.

The Vurberk Folk-pop Music Festival, whose history goes back over 25 years, takes place on the third Saturday of June in the courtyard of the Vurberk Castle.

The four-piece band Prismojeni profesorji bluesa (Wacky Blues Professors) play a high-powered version of blues that tends to deviate into psychedelic rock or pulsating funk. The band’s specialty is the inclusion of distorted harmonica, whose sound elevates the already high-spirited and forceful music and transports the audiences into raptures of joy. When played live, the duration of a composition, and consequently a gig, usually depends on the band’s mood. Although a piece has a certain predetermined running time, its duration will be doubled and even tripled in size, provided the vibes are good, but never curtailed. While mostly performing self-penned music, the band’s playlist occasionally includes covers of foreign artists – their role models –, most notably the legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and blues giants Freddie King and Muddy Waters.

Slovenian techno dons and modular enthusiasts Lifecutter and Shekuza join forces on a new project dedicated to the exploration of industrial, techno and dark ambient sonics. The former left a mark on the local scene with his “power electronics meet blackened techno” approach, while the latter secured his position as underground mainstay with two outstanding modular techno releases for the Ljubljana netlabel Kamizdat. Warhorse is a love child of their shared passion for tissue-mutilating frequencies and noisy techno—an ode to punchy and punishing dance music that will please fans of names like Perc, Scalameriya, Surgeon and Blawan.

An electronic project by producers, DJs & queer activists Nina Hudej (2018 SHAPE artist) & NinaBelle, which explores forward-thinking club and experimental electronic music.

The concept of the Wetrinsky Club was formulated by a social initiative called Peron Cooperative with the intention of creating a unique club venue with a highly vibrant cultural repertoire and establishing a new cultural scene. The centrally-located Wetrinsky Club incorporates and presents progressive, young end evolving first-rate culture, providing a platform and public visibility to its creators whilst also featuring a variegated catering service. Location: Maribor

Wild Strings is a collaborative music project between Slovenian ethno guitarist Aleksander Kuzmić, Slovak jazz violinist Petra Onderufová and French classical cellist Toby Kuhn. Taking inspiration from Balkan and Celtic traditions, jazz and classical music, and of course flamenco, the trio has created an informed and energetic blend of styles that intrigues and delights audiences everywhere. They have performed around Europe and also as far as Iran and Uzbekistan. The trio feels at home both in concert halls, jazz clubs and on festival stages. Their debut “Lost Weekend” was released in 2016. It was followed by their sophomore album “Bendjistan” in 2019.

The wind quintet Slowind was established 22 years ago, and has become the most active new music ensemble in Slovenia. As well as performing practically all of the works of the standard wind quintet repertoire, the members of Slowind have developed a reputation as uncompromising performers of contemporary music, from the classics of the avant-garde to works by the youngest composers, many of whom are not yet established but are very promising composers of our time. 

The Winter Days of Metal was launched in 2017 by the experienced team behind MetalDays, Slovenia’s biggest metal music festival. Danica Hall in Bohinjska Bistrica provides the venue for the three-day festival. Winter Days of Metal is not only a celebration of metal music, but also a real winter festival holiday.