Hungary is well-known for being the host to amazing festivals: apart from the “big three” of VOLT, Balaton Sound, and, of course, Sziget, there are plenty of smaller ones that are more than worth checking out. The newest kid on the block is Kolorádó festival, situated in the Buda mountains right by the capital.
Kolorádó began in 2016 as the need for a festival for the Budapest alternative scene reached a tipping point. Located near Adyliget, on a field enclosed by the Buda mountains, it offers refuge to those alternatives who want to enjoy a long weekend of partying outside the capital’s noise. The festival usually takes place mid-June, right when final exams of high school students are about to be wrapped up.
No internet, no signal, but plenty of raves, techno, and indie rock, Kolorádó has proven yet again why it is considered to be among the best of the up and coming festivals.
This year’s headline was spearheaded by American indie/folk rock artist Kurt Vile (his first time in Hungary) whose performance marked the first day of the festival’s history which was sold out. His concert might have looked unusual and tame to your average festival-goer, but his lo-fi beats and effortless elegance suited the Buda mountains extremely well. Fans of the Hungarian alternative scene were treated to amazing performances from Ricsárdgír, Middlemist Red or Fran Palermo, the former being forced to go on stage in a thunderstorm that mimicked an Oklahoma tornado.
The festival, as always, put heavy emphasis on being as eco-friendly as possible. You were given your own personal cup at your first purchase of beer or spritz, which later on, you could reuse as many times as you needed a drink. The gastro scene was spiced up with hipster burger chain Zing and various other local food providers.
Kolorádó, if we can believe the organisers, is not just a festival: it is a project.
An alternative festival not just for alternatives, a place where you can spend a weekend without having to worry about the outside world, an enclosed field where you can take refuge from the suffocating air of modern times.
And even if experimental techno is not exactly your cup of tea, a safe haven in these turbulent times does sound worth visiting, does it not?