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- A living "Legend": the stars of Russian rock returned the iconic "Gorbushka" to its former sound
A living "Legend": the stars of Russian rock returned the iconic "Gorbushka" to its former sound
The Gorbushka, which has long become one of the symbols of Russian rock culture, hosted the fourth Legend Festival, which brought together more than 30 bands on three stages - from Chaifa and Alice to Sergey Bobunets, Vadim Samoilov, Va-Bank and Urfin Jusa. About how the event went, why fans from different cities of the country come to it from year to year, and what legends DC Gorbunova remembers — in the Izvestia report.
"This is where we had our first concerts on the big stage"
In the crowd there are crazy hats with heavy chains and beer cans, colored mohawks and leather jackets. There are black flags and smoke from flares in the sky. On three stages there is the roar of guitars and the rumble of drums. An unprepared spectator may be shocked by the rock festival on the "Humpback" at first. But the external rebellion is not aggression, but its own language, understandable to several generations of rockers. Since the late 1980s, Gorbushka has been a point of attraction for those who did not fit into the standards, looking for their own sound and their own people. The Legend Festival continues this tradition.
"This is where we had our first concerts on a large stage,— recalls Armen Grigoryan, the leader of the Crematorium group, after playing his set. — We got here after we were arrested in the basement. The policeman said that a rock laboratory would be set up in the near future. And we went on stage at the Gorbushka Festival of Hope. After that, I realized that Crematorium is not only an apartment band, but it can also perform on stage.
As then, there is a spontaneous market between the scenes. They sell accessories, leather jackets, and fan T-shirts with skulls and images of iconic rock bands. Among the merchants is Sergey Potkin from Zlatoust. In the crowd, he is known by the nickname Heavy Metal Grandfather. He makes those steampunk hats that get lined up.
— This is my handiwork. People like to dress up at festivals, but inspiration comes to me, and I get such hats that it's a pity to sell," he says, showing the assortment. — I've been listening to rock all my life, I've read a lot about Gorbushka, which is an iconic place for rock and roll fans. But I haven't been able to come yet.
The Gorbushka has its own legends. In the 1990s, young people who could not afford a ticket were looking for alternative ways to get to the concert.
— There were stalls with windows next to the main entrance. We negotiated with the sellers — for the price of a bottle of beer, we climbed into this small window, and from there there was a door to the common lobby. One of today's festival guests nostalgically shows this place.
Now everything is civilized. In addition to three stages, the venue has a comfortable infrastructure with recreation areas and a food court. This makes the Legend Festival attractive to audiences from different cities.
"We came from St. Petersburg to Alice," says a couple from Tver wearing fan scarves.
The audience here is heterogeneous. The crowd includes those who got hooked on the rock wave in the 1980s, young people, and families with children.
— I came with my wife and two children. Kids listen to the same music — we're rock fans, so we all have mohawks. We have been coming to the Legend festival from Lipetsk for three years in a row. It's very atmospheric here," says Rezvan Mukhtarov.
"We performed in socks because we feel at home"
This is the fourth Legend Festival. On the stages there is a two—day musical marathon from performers whose names are inscribed in the history of Russian rock. The program was launched on the Square stage by Vadim Samoilov and Agatha Christie. The band performed hits that had already become musical classics in strict costumes and to the accompaniment of an orchestra.
— I really like to close and open festivals. Both are very elegant and festive. Today we came up with a program with an orchestra, and we even made a more refined musical set," said Vadim Samoilov.
"Agatha Christie" started in the Sverdlovsk rock club, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026. Among the participants of the "Legend" are musicians associated with this tradition. The grandfather of Ural rock, Alexander Pantykin, is also here.
— These are the musicians who were the forerunners of the Sverdlovsk rock club. Without them, nothing would have appeared — the garden from which we all grew would not have been created.: "Agatha Christie", "Nautilus", "Chaif" and so on. "Urfin Jus, Egor Belkin and Friends, Nastya Poleva are a community of musicians who gave Sverdlovsk rock its signature,— Vadim Samoilov announced his colleagues' appearance on stage.
Hundreds of people hurriedly flowed into the hall, and after the artists had already left the stage, they chanted for a long time.: "Nastya!" In the evening, other famous Uralians, the Chaif group, took over the baton on the square. It is at this festival that the team performs for the first time, but they are also familiar with the "Humpback".
— There were landmark concerts here. I remember the Nautilus Pompilius decade, where we sang three songs. We took mountaineer costumes from the musical comedy theater, like we came from the Ural Mountains. We go out in these costumes, and a large Chechen diaspora was sitting on the balcony. It turned out that we came out in Chechen costumes. They were tense at first, but then they saw that we were respectful, and they sent us respect. We not only came here for concerts, but also just to sit in the office between planes. Therefore, for us in the 1990s, Gorbushka was a Moscow dacha," recalls Chaif leader Vladimir Shakhrin.
In total, the program brought together more than 30 teams. There are also young performers among them. On the Territory stage, rapper Sagrada rocked the audience with powerful guitar riffs.
— The audience accepted it as never before! I'm pleasantly surprised. Every time it seems like it couldn't be better, everything works out. The audience supports, they don't leave. And I feel continuity. It means a lot to me to go on the same stage with those people whose music I loved when I was still a teenager," said Sagrada.
Rock concerts were part of Gorbushka's unique look, where the usual lounge with chairs turned into a space for free movement and shared energy. According to tradition, the third stage of the Legend festival has a standing orchestra. The band Anya from St. Petersburg debuted at the festival here.
— The audience is infinitely pleasant! We were worried, of course— nerves, shaking. But we did it, we went on stage, and everything became fine," the band members said. — We performed in socks, because there is a feeling that we are at home, and the people in the audience are guests and friends.
The festival showed in two days that Russian rock on Gorbushka is not an echo of the past. It's still loud, crowded, and real here, which means the legend continues.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
