The first drumming festival in the Balkans, Drum Dum Fest, has entered a new decade of its existence and for the eleventh time it opens its doors to its fellow citizens and lovers of rhythm and good music. Residents of Leskovac (Serbia), as well as all friends from other cities who come to the eleventh DDF, will once again be able to hang out with the rhythm masters and enjoy their virtuosity.

This year’s gathering is scheduled for the first day of October and will begin at noon with a traditional parade of drummers through the town square to the National Theater, on whose stage this year’s program will be held.
A master workshop is scheduled for 1 p.m., where everyone who wants to expand their knowledge of playing the oldest instrument, but also those who simply want to enjoy music, will have the opportunity to hang out with the outstanding young drummer Djordje Hartl (who is remembered by the DDF audience as the first winner of DDF Teens, as well as for his great performances with the band at the fourth, and with the Nis Big Band at the ninth festival) and his band “Coffee shop collective” and all this with the support of the legendary drummer of the group ” Kerber” by Josip Hartl.

The evening part of the program will open at 7 p.m., traditionally, with the performance of the youngest drummers, through the DDF Kids program. After that, the famous duo from Leskovac performs. Two brothers on the DDF stage together for the first time after eleven years – Igor and Peđa Velikov promise the festival audience complete enjoyment in the pure rhythm of a concert on two drums.

The organizer of the festival, UG Music Communication, as you know, after ten years of existence, two years ago decided to start another tradition within the DDF and to award the “Lifetime Achievement Award” every year to the best drummers, who have marked the music of these areas, for an exceptional contribution to the development of musical art and the promotion of drums and their importance in the world of music.
Since the pandemic circumstances postponed the tenth festival for a year, last year DDF awarded this award to the great musician and artist Garabet Tavitjan from Skopje.

This year, the award goes to another drumming legend, Slobodan Stojanović – Kepa, drummer of the SMAK group, a musician whose drumming skills marked an era of r’n’r in Yugoslavia at the time, just like his friend from the band, Radomir Mihajlović – Točak , did it on the guitar. Since Mr. Stojanović was unable to come, the DDF team traveled to Kragujevac and presented him with the award, and the audience will be shown a video of the presentation as well as a short conversation with him.

For the highlight of the evening of the eleventh DDF, Vasil Hadžiman’s band will be presented to the audience, with Viktor Filipovski on drums and Bojan Ivković on percussion. As far as Vasil Hadžimanov and Branko Trijić are concerned, they are old acquaintances of the audience of the drumming festival because we have met them many times through “Trio Sveti” by Marko Đorđević and it is known that they are the favorites of this audience.
Viktor Filipovski has been known to the Leskovac audience since the fifth DDF, when he performed with his colleagues from the Skopje Jazz Academy of Goce Delčev University, where he is now a professor. And add to all this that Miroslav Tovirac is on bass guitar and it’s clear that this, the eleventh Drum Dum Fest, will be remembered for a long time by the audience for the supreme enjoyment of music, as always.

That’s why, Saturday, October 1, National Theater Leskovac… Welcome to another get-together and get ready for fireworks of rhythm and a great time!