Sea Dance Festival made its return to Montenegro last night, welcoming an incredible 39,000 visitors from more than 100 countries and turning Bečići, on the final Friday of August, into one of Europe’s key festival destinations. The opening night alone showed that the wait for this comeback had been more than worthwhile. Across three stages, Bečići Beach moved through several different rhythms, from the incredible HUGEL, who showed exactly why he is one of the most in-demand artists today and a headliner at some of the world’s leading festivals and clubs. Alongside him, the crowd experienced the powerful house and techno drive of Enrico Sangiuliano, a six-hour underground marathon from RPR Soundsystem, as well as a strong programme showcasing regional and homegrown talent. A spectacular finale came courtesy of techno queen Charlotte de Witte, who pushed the intensity even further and, carried by the energy of tens of thousands of people, extended her set, once again showing why she stands at the forefront of global techno. Among the guests on the opening night was Eurovision winner DARA, who spent time with fans in the VIP area and will bring her infectious Bangaranga energy to the stage tonight from 11pm. The second festival night will also feature a brand-new live spectacle from one of the biggest hitmakers of his generation, John Newman, appearing in an exclusive format, acclaimed producer Burak Yeter and the much-loved hip-hop clash between Who See and Bad Copy. Portuguese rave sensation BIIA will push the night even further, while one of the most influential figures in Berlin techno, Marcel Dettmann, will bring his unmistakable, uncompromising sound straight to the Adriatic coast.
The Main Stage began taking shape with local talent, as Lekka b2b Mallex Marrero were given the honour of opening the festival and setting the pace for a night that was only just beginning to gather momentum. They were followed by Divolly & Markward, a duo who have been steadily building an international profile in recent years. Their particularly strong connection with HUGEL has already resulted in the collaborative tracks All Night and this year’s Jump & Shout, as well as appearances as part of his Make The Girls Dance concept in Ibiza. Their open, percussive afro and Latin house groove therefore provided the perfect introduction to an artist with whom they already share both the studio and major dancefloor moments.
And then HUGEL took over the Main Stage and Bečići erupted. The French hitmaker arrived in the midst of one of the biggest summers of his career and immediately demonstrated why his blend of Latin house, afro rhythms and huge hooks has become one of the most recognisable sounds on today’s global dance scene. The beach turned into a massive open-air dancefloor from the opening notes of global hit I Adore You, before Jamaican (Bam Bam) pushed the temperature even higher and transformed the entire space into one huge moving crowd. The full eruption came with Movin’ To The Sun, a moment that perfectly captured HUGEL’s performance in Bečići: a huge hook, relentless groove and thousands of people taking over the song at the same time.
Midnight belonged to Enrico Sangiuliano, one of the most recognisable Italian techno artists of his generation, who completely changed the tone of the night. His precise, powerful and groove-driven techno raised the intensity and prepared the crowd for the final assault of the night, when Charlotte de Witte stepped behind the decks. One of the biggest techno stars in the world continued without dropping the pace, moving through powerful kicks, hypnotic lines and her trademark darker sound, keeping Bečići under constant pressure until the very end. The crowd showed no sign of letting up, and neither did Charlotte, who, carried by the atmosphere in front of the stage, extended her set, rounding off the opening night of Sea Dance with one of its most powerful moments.
While the Main Stage shifted between artists and tempos, Dance Paradise had a very different idea of how the night should unfold. Before the major marathon began, the home crowd was represented by Branko Vuković b2b Petar P., before Rhadoo, Raresh and Petre Inspirescu, together known as RPR Soundsystem, took control. The Romanian trio were given a full six hours to do exactly what has earned them cult status across Europe’s minimal and underground scene. Free from the constraints of a short festival slot and without any need to rush towards a peak within an hour, their set unfolded as a long nocturnal journey by the sea.
The opening-night programme also featured Mark Aasgier, further broadening the festival’s sound beyond the biggest names on the Main Stage. It was precisely this ability to move from one completely different musical world into another that defined Sea Dance’s opening night: huge festival moments on the Main Stage just minutes away from an extended underground session operating entirely by its own rules.
The third face of the opening night belonged to the Homeground Stage, where Sea Dance gave significant space to Montenegro’s new music scene. The line-up featured Jack Lupino, Off Duty, Janjo, Štrajk mozga, Rudolf, Rotko Stjuart, Petrikor 1858 and Šarđun, bringing original rock, alternative music and a range of sounds from a new generation of local bands to the festival.
For many of these performers, the road to Sea Dance began through the EXIT to Montenegro competition, created to open the doors of a major festival platform to Montenegrin musicians and creatives. Across the three days of Sea Dance, exactly 100 Montenegrin artists will feature in the festival programme, giving the local scene one of its biggest platforms of the summer.
Among the guests at the Sea Dance opening was DARA, whose appearance generated major interest from media at the festival, while she was joined in the VIP area by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić.
Sea Dance has now opened its big weekend in Budva. The first night is complete, with two more festival days still ahead in Bečići. And the second night brings an entirely new dynamic.
Following the spectacular opening, Sea Dance raises the bar again tonight with a programme bringing together some of the biggest pop and dance hits of the past decade, Europe’s current pop phenomenon and regional crowd favourites. John Newman, one of the most recognisable British voices of his generation and the artist behind anthems that have conquered global charts and amassed billions of streams, arrives in Bečići, while one of the central moments of the night will belong to current Eurovision winner DARA. A regional explosion comes in the form of the hip-hop clash between Who See and Bad Copy, while once the night moves into its dance-driven second half, global hitmaker Burak Yeter will deliver another major surge of energy.
