Ronnie Drew (1934 - 2008)

On the 16th of August Irish singer and folk musician Ronnie Drew passed away after a long illness. He is best known as one of founding members of The Dubliners- he was on and off member of this band for 33 years in which he recorded many memorable songs such as Seven drunken nights and Finnegan's Wake. In his long career he will be most remembered by his distinctive voice and always linked with Dublin as it once was.

"Ballad of Ronnie Drew"- tribute to Ronnie Drew, recorded by some of the best Irish bands and musicians- including U2, Dubliners, Chieftains, Andrea Corr, Sinead O'Connor, Shane McGowan

"I'll Tell Me Ma"- St. Patrick's Day open-air concert 2003

Although it's been 13 years since Ronnie Drew last performed with The Dubliners, Slovenian fans who like his music will be able to remember him with the concert of The Dubliners in Križanke on the 15th September.

Schengen fest 2008

Main stage (actually only stage ;-) at the festival

Last weekend biggest musical festival in Bela krajina this year- Schengen fest in Vinica took place for the first time. It was a much-needed refreshment for musical scene in this part of Slovenia. After Koupafest ceased 4 years ago nothing at such scale was going on. There were concerts here and there but for anything bigger you had to travel a bit further. Hopefully Schengen fest is here to stay. Judgin by its inaugural year it's refreshing, set in good location, organized by people who (although they still need to learn a lot) took a lot of effort. First Schengen fest didn't attract many sponsors, nor visitors, but those who came have a lot good to say about it. There were 6 artists/bands who performed on Friday and Saturday- all of them Slovenian, but they sure got people going. On Friday local Bela krajina band E.S.F. warmed crowd before more renowned artists - rapper 6 pack čukur and later Alya. On Saturday I.C.E., superb Magnifico and Rock defect took stage.

Magnifico - Land of Champions
All in all- it was great two nights, packed with good music and great company. I'm sure not just for me. All bands were good, but Magnifico simply kicked ass- he got people in trance- dancing, jumping and singing along. I hope we can all look forward to Schengen fest 2009?