Georgia’s main folk music festival Art-Gene kicks off

For a month starting this Sunday, folk arts enthusiasts will be invited to watch artist performances, taste local cuisine and find artisanal items exhibited at the Art-Gene Festival.

The annual folklore tour across Georgia has officially kicked off on June 16 in Akhmeta, in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti.

Later on June 22, the concerts will continue in the Black seaside region of Adjara followed by a performance in the village of Gordi, in the region of Imereti on June 28.

The Frani musical band will hold a concert in Khoni, Imereti, to close the regional tour.

The open air Ethnographic Museum, overlooking Tbilisi from a hillside, hosts the festival annually. Photo: Art-Gene 

During the tour spectators will see exhibitions of different artworks, handicrafts as well as performance by the regional folklore ensembles.

Hosted at the Open Air Museum of Ethnography in Tbilisi, the customary home for the folklore fest, it will see popular artists ranging from Nino Katamadze & Insight to Sukhishvilebi national dance troupe go on stage from 7 to 14 July.

Georgian composer Dato Evgenidze will open the Tbilisi events and will be followed by performance of other Georgian musical bands and singers.

Photo: Art-Gene

Folk-rock and blues singer and composer Niaz Diasamidze will perform in Tbilisi Ethnographic Musem accompanied by his musical band 33a on July 13.

The large-scale musical event will be closed by Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet on July 14.

The festival, aimed at presentation of Georgian folklore dates back 16 years. More than 100 concerts have been conducted during the period attended by approximately 30-40 thousand people every year.