The legendary Kavarna rock and metal music tradition may be a thing of the past, but fans need not mourn – the Blagoevgrad village of Dabrava is well on its way to taking Kavarna’s place. The third edition of The Brava Fest took place in the village from September 1 to 3. John Lawton, the vocalist of Uriah Heep, and Bulgarian rock legends BTR were the headliners in this year’s edition. The event was organized by the Association for European Development of the Bulgarian Village. It was also supported by America for Bulgaria Foundation.
“This year we want to focus on making rock music more popular with children. Our big dream is for The Brava Fest to grow into a Balkan regional festival,” shared Dabrava mayor Rosen Georgiev.
The Academy of Rock and Classical Music “Presto” took part in the festival for the first time this year. A record number of children joined in the fun and performed on the big stage.
The three-day festival also featured local bands, participants in the Big Rock Break and a Macedonian rock band. Tsonko Tsonev, who pioneered the rock fest tradition as mayor of Kavarna, was there for the second consecutive year. He has a new book out this year, which he presented at the fest.