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The Dalan Fest rock festival held in Armenia’s city of Gyumri could become an annual event, organizers and city officials said, citing strong interest from both local residents and tourists.
During the three-day festival, Gyumri became a center of rock music, with the city’s historic dalans — arched passageways — transformed into open-air concert venues.
The festival, initiated by the Manukyan Company with the support of Armenia’s Tourism Committee, also helped revive a long-standing musical tradition in the city, said Lilit Tovmasyan, head of the Culture and Youth Affairs Department at Gyumri City Hall.
“Judging by the overall picture, we can say that the festival has attracted interest from both locals and tourists,” Tovmasyan told Armenpress.
She said participating bands had cited the influential Armenian rock band Bambir as an important influence on their musical development and welcomed the revival of the tradition of performing under the city’s arches.
According to Tovmasyan, the enthusiasm shown by both older generations and young rock fans provides grounds to make the festival an annual event.
“The organizers will do everything possible for the festival to establish itself in Gyumri and for the meeting of rock fans and rock bands to take place every year,” she said.
The tradition of rock music and gatherings under Gyumri’s arches dates back to the 1970s, when the Bambir rock band would gather with music enthusiasts under the arches to play and sing. The band also has a song titled “Kamari Tak” (“Under the Arch”), which is an invitation to sing together in that setting.
“This is not only about organizing a festival, but also about reviving a tradition. The tradition of singing under the arches established by Bambir is being passed on to a new generation of musicians. Rock music is once again being played under the arched entrances of the city’s buildings, as it was in Leninakan in the 1970s,” Tovmasyan said.
She added that festivals such as Dalan Fest bring music out of concert halls, offer residents and visitors distinctive evenings, provide a platform for young artists and contribute to the development of the city’s cultural environment.
The festival featured performances by the rock bands Kangun, URU, TIEZERK and KOUCHI BLUES.
Organizers said they plan to continue working to make Dalan Fest an annual rock music event in Gyumri.