United Islands of Prague

As usual, the event opens on Thursday, June 24 with the Club Night. Eighteen of Prague’s leading clubs, for example the Palác Akropolis, Rock Café, Chapeau Rouge, Meet Factory, Cross, or the recently renovated Malostranská Beseda, are offering fresh Czech bands at zero admission. The bands have been nominated by our dramaturgist team of the music journalists Ondřej Bezr, Jan Vedral, Jana Kománková, Marek Peška, Petr Vizina, Martin Hošna, or Mardoša from Tata Bojs. The bands you are invited to see are Kazety, Narcotic Fields, Sunflower Caravan, Please the Trees, Montage, Republic of Two, Laydown, The Spankers, Basta Fidel, Green Smatroll and others.

The open-air festival opens officially at the Main Stage on Friday with a concert of the Andalusian star, Amparo Sánchez. Czech audiences probably know her from Amparanoia, her previous band. The singer has recently released her new solo record on which she has worked especially with the members of the cult band of Calexico. Before Amparo Sánchez goes live, the stage will belong to the solo project of one of Czechia’s most popular singers, Tonya Graves. The Střelecký Island will also host the young band Luk who will show what world-class sound a Ukrainian band can have. Main Stage line-up continues with Braagas, winners of the Anděl music awards, and two newcomers to the Czech club scene, Sporto and Rara Avis. The Electronic Stage at the Mánes Gallery will offer the performances of Prague’s famous DJs: Roman Rai, Pat Heart or DJ Slater’s live project with drummers of U-Prag band. Friday is also the first day of the Yornet Stage at Kampa Island; some of the long-term foreign residents of Prague will be performing, for example Dope Aviators or Marimba Mama.

All of the six open air festival stages open on Saturday. The Main Stage program at Střelecký Island starts as early as 11 a.m. with short performances of two young bands, Reskata and M.Y.Music. Next comes Xindl X, this year’s Anděl nominee for the Song and Video of the Year. Another contribution to the festival atmosphere at the Main Stage will be Holland’s Dog Called Phenix who are known for their high-power live performances. The next band is Kíla from Ireland, a special treat for world music lovers. Once Kíla has finished, the electro-pop trio Hal Flavin of Luxembourg takes control. The penultimate name on the program is Benjamin Darvill aka Son of Dave – most people remember him from Crash Test Dummies. Quite near the end of the evening comes The Cinematics, a guitar quartet from Scotland, led by the charismatic lead singer and guitarist Scott Rinning. The band’s debut record was released in 2007 under the supervision of famous British producers who have cooperated with Artic Monkeys, Kasabian, New Order, and others. The last item of the Main Stage is the performance of Poland’s Miloopa which combines electronics, instruments played live, and a carefully worked-out visual show.

The Radio 1 Stage offers a wide selection of music types; the stage is again located in the lower part of Kampa Island. This stage will present the audiences with young bands such as Čokovoko, Talkshow, or the new music project by Natálie Kocábová. While fans of world music will enjoy the performance of Alejandro Toledo and Magic Tombolinos, jazz lovers are sure to savor Led Bib from the UK which was nominated for the famous Mercury Prize earlier this year. The award-winning Midi Lidi will close the day.

Similar to last year, Slovanský Island will host two stages. Czech Stage at Žofín will present pure domestic bands such as Lajky, Bt’n’J, Poslední výstřel, and Burana Orchestr. The other Slovanský Island stage is the Electronic Stage at the Mánes: this opens already in the afternoon now. Leading Czech DJs come here to play slow tempo at 3 pm. The music will go faster and faster; the final part of the open-air production will be Alef Zero, a band the sound of which has been compared to London Electricity. The Mánes will be holding the afterparty under drum’n’bass and liquid funk vibes presented by leading Czech DJs and producers Danoo, Denius, and X-Morph.

Part of the United Islands is the Leisure Time Festival which offers a wide range of free-time activities both for the individual and families with small children. Therefore, Saturday will present you with opportunities to play marbles, frisbee, lacrosse, to test the e-bike or freebord, or you may wish to see a movie on the facades of nearby houses at the Fresh Film Walk. Leisure Time Festival also presents stands of several not-for-profit organizations. Be sure to come to United Islands well before lunchtime so you could try the delicatessen from the food show at Janáčkovo Riverbank.

This year of the event brings a brand new concept, the Partner Pass. To keep the look and feel of the festival we all enjoy and to refrain from putting the visitors, performing artists and the beautiful area around the Vltava behind some ugly fence, we need support from our long-term partners and faithful festival visitors. Everyone who buys the Pass becomes a partner of the United Islands festival. The Pass comes with a catalog with artist profiles, a CD with mp3 tracks by the major stars, a practical program guide with a map, and also a bonus to please the visitors. All of the above comes for a friendly price of CZK 100. Visiting students may take advantage of a special promo event, 1+1 Partner Pass for free. The Partner Pass will be available within two weeks before the festival starts; you can buy it in selected Prague’s music clubs and of course at the event itself.