Slovenska popevka
Organised byRadio-Television Slovenia (RTV Slovenia)
Frequencyannual
Slovenska popevka Festival
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Background
The festival was launched as a way to develop Slovenian popular music, which in the late 1950s and early 1960s already had some strong protagonists (singers and composers), yet was also lacking a more regular production that was needed by the radio. Other Yugoslavian republics already also had their own festivals and have often hosted Slovenian performers, but these performances were still onyl sporadic. Vilko Ovsenik, one of the festival initiators, expressed the festival's creed by saying "if you want to develop your own music, you’ve got to have your own festival".
Chosen as the location of the festival was Bled (where the Jazz festival Ljubljana was also established just two years prior). While the festival was nominally organised by the Tourism society Bled, the main protagonists of the conception of Slovenska popevka were the employees from Radio Slovenia, which was a sort of a co-producer from the start.
Slovenska popevka 1962 - 1983
The first edition was held in Bled in 1962 as a three day event, which was in 1964 moved to Ljubljana. The songs were chosen based on a public call for original compositions, with select singers invited to perform the chosen compositions alongside Revijski orkester RTV Slovenija. The winners were chosen by the audience and the expert jury, and the competing songs also released on vinyl.
The festivals brought many artist5s to the forefront, from the already established singers like Marjana Deržaj and Majda Sepe, new ones like Lado Leskovar and Elda Viler, and later in the 70s also rock and cantautors like Neca Falk, Pepel in kri and Tomaž Domicelj. The festival was based at different venues - its manin domicil was Hala Tivoli, but that was lateer replaced by Cankarjev dom and in the end Križanke. In 1977 and 1978, it was also held in Hala Golovec in Celje.
In the second part of the seventies, the festival started losing its importance and prestige, and in 1978 it was first renamed into Days of Slovenian popular music, presenting a wider array of genres. Yet the new concept did not last and the final edition was held in 1983. Its place was taken by other festivals, such as the Melodies of the Sea and Sun.
The second rising of the festival
15 years later, RTV Slovenija decided to reactivate the festival. While its re-start was held at Križanke, the festival later migrated between Ljubljana Castle, Cankarjev dom and one of the RTV studios. Still, the songs presented at the festival did not take hold strongly as the old ones and in 2014, Slovenska popevka was once again dissolved.
See also
- Bled Festival Hall
- Melodies of the Sea and Sun
- RTV Slovenia
