This year, you don’t have to choose which small festival to attend. We’ve looked into what to expect from the joint venture between Pavilon and Terra Kontra this July in Felsőtárkány.
Photo by Dániel Megyeri
Three years ago, we got to know Pavilon more closely through MMN. Back then, they were preparing for their third edition, held by the Úri fishing lake. Úri hosted the festival for two years before the event took a one-year hiatus. During that break, the organizers held events under the N2K (Natura 2000) banner and played music everywhere. This summer, they are returning with a partner festival. Their comrades from Terra Kontra, founded in 2020, have hosted numerous nightlife events in Budapest and two festivals—unlike the constantly moving Pavilon, Terra Kontra has always held its events at a fixed location in Felsőtárkány, in the “peaceful slopes of Bükk.” Their joint three-day, three-stage festival, Terra Kontra x Pavilon, will take place from July 18-21 this year.
Terra Kontra / Photo by András Fülöp
“The two teams are connected in many ways, with long-standing friendships, shared visions, and years of collaboration shaping this year’s festival”
– they write in the event description. For those familiar with their work, this might not be surprising, as the organizers have often appeared at each other’s events as DJs. They add that they are preparing with a colorful lineup, featuring many up-and-coming talents and a few veteran musicians, which has been a clear mission from the start for both projects. Pavilon has always provided a lineup with a genre diversity that rivals major festivals, blending jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music; Terra Kontra delves into the depths of electronic genres, with perhaps the most dedicated diggers amongst Budapest’s youth.
Performers include Sauropoda, Tindia, Denevér, and Hét Hat Club. On the hip-hop front, Dom Beats, Kebab, and Orlando will perform. The audience can also expect DJ sets from a wide array of genres, featuring familiar faces from the Budapest nightlife scene, such as Andre S. from mhmm, Kin Teal, Klpflrtpr from Acideal, Route 8, and LN//SO. Special guests include Levos from Australia, Joff from Germany, and Megumi from the UK.
Both projects operate as non-profit small festivals that have grown from friendly gatherings into multi-day events. The organizing teams of both festivals prioritize being close to nature, finding locations where they do not disturb nearby residents or the environment more than necessary for such an event.
After their hiatus last year, Pavilon’s organizers had to rethink how the festival could return: Úri posed many challenges as a location (despite the fun of traveling to the site on a local’s horse carriage), and they had to decide whether to revert to a smaller, more private event or expand by involving more helpers. They chose the latter, leading to the idea of teaming up with Terra Kontra for a joint organization: the two festivals share a similar audience and vision, and with combined effort and experience, they can more easily organize an event of this scale.
“Every year at Pavilon, there were people who helped us build, market, manage the stage, transport, etc., just for one summer. Now, when they heard Pavilon would be back, suddenly everyone who ever participated showed up. The team has grown significantly, with more than ten of us just from the Pavilon side. So, there will be at least a week-long joint building camp where we’ll create amazing things. Tádé Bíró is bringing all his lighting equipment and that of his friends, too”
– shared Áron Rákár, one of Pavilon’s organizers.
Pavilon Festival / Photos by Borbála Nagy
The two teams are thoroughly preparing this year, and their joint curation could interest a broad festival-going audience. There isn’t a similar program on the summer scene: Kolorádó has already become a large festival with all its advantages and mostly disadvantages, catering to a different audience than at the beginning; Bánkitó has been operating at half capacity with stage limitations since the pandemic; Gólem won’t take place, which was perhaps the most similar in size and program in recent years. The only comparable competitor might be the semi-private small festival, Telek, which announced its event for the same date as Terra Kontra x Pavilon just two weeks ago. This unfortunate overlap affects all three festivals, as Telek also targets the same crowd, with previous lineups featuring both Pavilon and Terra Kontra DJs.
The collaboration festival continues to operate on a non-profit basis. Ticket prices are set to cover expected costs, but any surplus will be used for future programs and better compensation for performers. It wouldn’t be surprising if this year’s organization is particularly successful, as Áron says,
“It’s a huge team with lots of good energy, we’ll be in beautiful mountains, so a big hit is expected.”
This article is brought to you as part of the EM GUIDE project – an initiative dedicated to empowering independent music magazines and strengthening the underground music scene in Europe. Read more about the project at emgui.de.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union (EU) or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the EU nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
