Just before the start of this year's European tours we had the chance to meet Loreena McKennitt in Zurich for an interview.

Thanks to the motorway connection, it is only a good hour from the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen to Zurich. The city of Zurich itself is initially a bit difficult for us as newcomers, because despite several inquiries we cannot find out exactly where the Kongresshaus Zurich is located.

It is no longer new idea, since there are several imitators in the meantime, but it was still a wonderful experience, as suddenly and unexpectedly magical sounds were heard within the otherwise hectic, lively and loud waiting halls at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

It is almost an eternity ago that Loreena McKennitt gave her three legendary concerts in the Alhambra of Granada in September 2006, which were recorded by the American television broadcaster Public Broadcasting Service and released as a concert recording on DVD.

As part of the "Hygiene Congress, Wound Congress, People in Focus", which took place from 07th to 09^th of March 2018 at the Marienberg Fortress in Wurzburg, the Augsburg band "Backdoor Connection" also kicked off with a 2-hour program of their own productions classic soft rock at the Wurzburger Hofbräu.

After the performance of the Calgija Sound System group coming from the Republic of Macedonia for the Balkan Festival, the break following their concert was suddenly filled with great unrest from the back of the concert hall, which was quickly filled with the sound of a lively orchestra, paving their way through the audience: Vesela Druzina Orkestar, as well coming from the Republic of Macedonia.

Very relaxed but lively, it was a music show, that impressed us at the booth of this year's partner country Hungary, so there were in addition to traditional folkloric dances some performances of modern electronic music, especially in the interpretation of the group InFusion Trio from Budapest.

After the vocally impressive performance of the group Galgija Sound System during the Balkan Fest in Thessalonica, the next gig should also really inspire us:

Thanks to a note from Max and Jonas, two travelers on their way to Iran, who have just arrived at a stopover in a refugee camp near Thessaloniki, to attend a four-week aid course, we were told that the Balkan festival was held in Thessalonica.

As a Daughter of a Turkish father and a Dutch mother, Deniz was born in the city of Bremen, Germany on the 22nd of November, 1988. She went through the first half of her elementary education in Bremen and the second half in Izmir, Turkey.

Backdoor Connection, which is a band from Augsburg and has stayed away from monotonous main movement, has been offering a very powerful cocktail which constitutes a variance for 8 years.

Can Bonomo started playing guitar at the age of 8, when he was introduced to music with the inspiration of his neighbor.  Throughout his high school and university years, Bonomo, together with amateur music bands, staged several concerts in Izmir and Istanbul. 

How can we use art of Rap and hip-hop culture in a way that supports tolerance, peace and love?

The culture of tolerance – a team spirit that is formed in order to overcome political, economical, social, religious and other differences.

Kirac, his complete name is Ali Tufan Kirac, was born the 17th of June, 1972 in Elbistan in the province of Kahramanmaras. At that time his father was working as a teacher. Because of getting a new job in Istanbul the whole family moved there in 1982.

Loreena McKennitt is a rarity in popular music - a self-managed, self-produced artist who owns her own record label, whose music crosses stylistic and cultural boundaries, and who has sold more than 14 million records worldwide.

Turkey once again opted for an internal selection and chose the rap rock band maNga to represent the country at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. “We Could Be The Same” was written by Ferman Akgül and Evren Özdemir and is drawn to close the competition in the 2nd Semi- Final on 27th May.(by Daniel Mourinho)

"Matty Ellis is the front man of award winning Australian Indie six-piece The Ellis Collective.  Heralded as 'one of the most intelligent, compelling and honest male singer-songwriters to emerge in along while" (Rhythms Magazine), his distinctive sound is both undeniably unique and unmistakably Australian. 

Mustafa Sandal, commonly known as Musti, is a famous Turkish pop singer. Next to Turkish, he is fluent in English, Italian and French. He emerged in the early 1990s with the revival of Turkish pop music and is one of the most successful pop singers in Turkey with overall sales of 17 million copies.

- He was born in Kadıköy Şifa Hospital in 1989. - He became acquainted with Hip-hop in 1999 at the age of 10.

Sezen Aksu was born July 13, 1954 as Fatma Sezen Yıldırım in Sarayköy, Denizli, Turkey. At the age of three her family moved to İzmir, she finished high school and began studying at the local agricultural institute. Because of first success in music, she left college without degree.