Grushinsky Festival of Author's Songs

Bulat Okudzhava, Yuri Vizbor, Alexander Galich, Tatyana and Sergei Nikitin, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Yuliy Kim These names are forever inscribed in the history of bard song Standing out among them is Valery Grushin, a guitarist and performer who tragically died in 1967 while rafting down the Uda River in Siberia A year after his death, friends gathered on the Volga near Samara to honor the memory of their comrade with guitar chords Thus was born the tradition of an annual meeting of bards on the first weekend of July - the Grushinsky Art Song Festival The dates of the tourist rally vary every year Sometimes the song marathon is held in August For some time, the venue of the festival, due to a conflict between the organizers, was two separate sites - Mastryukovsky Lakes and Fedorovsky Meadows On them, guests set up tent cities to live in the field for four days Since 2014, the traditional gathering place for participants of the tourist rally has once again become a clearing on the Mastryukov Lakes, located in the Samara region The festival takes place in the form of concerts and competitions for bard song performers The marathon program also includes sports competitions, educational projects and creative meetings In the clearings there are not only music venues, but also food courts with fairs where souvenirs and tourist equipment are sold Every year, participants and fans of art songs from different parts of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the USA come to the Grushinsky Festival The main concert venue is a floating stage in the shape of a guitar Spectators watch the performances from a high slope on the bank of the Volga channel, which is called “The Mountain” The constant artistic director of the competition in recent years is Oleg Mityaev At various times, E Yevtushenko, Y Vizbor, S Nikitin, A Gorodnitsky, G Khomchik, Y Shevchuk and other famous songwriters were honorary guests of the gathering and members of the jury Many legendary bards have been coming to Mastryukov Lakes since 1969 The opening of the Grushinsky festival begins with a ceremonial formation, an impromptu parade of participants, musical greetings and raising the flag After this, bard performances begin on numerous stages, which last until late at night The first round of the competition of authors and performers takes place online, the second and third - on Mastryukovskaya Polyana The laureates of the song marathon take part in the gala concert and receive awards from the jury along with the competition winners The V Grushin Festival, held in Samara, is considered the hallmark of the region The rally on the banks of the Volga is the oldest art song competition in Russia, a love for which bards and fans of their work have carried throughout their lives