Menuo Juodaragis
Encyclopedia
Mėnuo Juodaragis is an annual independent and non-profit Lithuania
n music festival for various post-folklore, folklore, neo-folk, alternative, experimental music and contemporaty Baltic culture.
culture focusing on the heritage of pagan
tradition, Baltic culture revival, post-folk trends and avant-garde
of contemporary music. Mėnuo Juodaragis also offers other activities around these topics. The festival's programme includes lectures, tribal workshops, traditional rites, art exhibitions, various creative and ecologic actions, a selection of art house films, hikes, sports, folk dances and DJ parties.
Traditionally, Mėnuo Juodaragis stretches through three days and nights and has several scenes at a time.
Mėnuo Juodaragis is an independent event based on people's engagement and ideology. All festival's activities are based on personal initiatives and free will exclusive of any formal undertakings.
MJR is among the few events in Lithuania attracting foreign visitors. During the last few years, the festival was visited by guests from over twenty-five countries.
The program includes different styles of music ranging from ethno
, neo-folk, post-folk, tribal, gothic
to ambient
, industrial
, IDM, rock
/metal, avant-garde
and others.
Yet, the bands usually share similarities in stylistic or lyrical content.
town, Lithuania
. Today, the MJR has become a major Lithuanian event of the alternative scene. An increasing number of visitors and artists take part in the festival each year.
The festival is organised in picturesque locations of nature. A tradition emerged to organise the growing event in a new location every three years. Following the start in Verbiškės, Mėnuo Juodaragis took place in Sudeikiai settlement near Utena
town in 2000-2002. The timing of the event also became fixed and falls on the last weekend of Summer. In 2003-2005, MJR was held in Kernavė
, the ancient capital of Lithuania. After a break in 2006, the festival took place on the island of Zarasas Lake in Zarasai
town. The 13th edition of the festival was unique for a limited number of tickets and took place in Aukštadvaris Regional Park
.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n music festival for various post-folklore, folklore, neo-folk, alternative, experimental music and contemporaty Baltic culture.
Concept
It is a festival of contemporary BalticBalts
The Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east...
culture focusing on the heritage of pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
tradition, Baltic culture revival, post-folk trends and avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
of contemporary music. Mėnuo Juodaragis also offers other activities around these topics. The festival's programme includes lectures, tribal workshops, traditional rites, art exhibitions, various creative and ecologic actions, a selection of art house films, hikes, sports, folk dances and DJ parties.
Traditionally, Mėnuo Juodaragis stretches through three days and nights and has several scenes at a time.
Mėnuo Juodaragis is an independent event based on people's engagement and ideology. All festival's activities are based on personal initiatives and free will exclusive of any formal undertakings.
MJR is among the few events in Lithuania attracting foreign visitors. During the last few years, the festival was visited by guests from over twenty-five countries.
The program includes different styles of music ranging from ethno
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, neo-folk, post-folk, tribal, gothic
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
to ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, IDM, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
/metal, avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
and others.
Yet, the bands usually share similarities in stylistic or lyrical content.
History
Mėnuo Juodaragis was initiated in 1997 as a spontaneous gathering of several creative youths and their friends in Verbiškės village near MolėtaiMoletai
Molėtai is a city in north eastern Lithuania. One of the oldest settlements in Lithuania, it is a popular resort for the inhabitants of Vilnius. According to the 2001 census, it had 7,221 inhabitants....
town, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. Today, the MJR has become a major Lithuanian event of the alternative scene. An increasing number of visitors and artists take part in the festival each year.
The festival is organised in picturesque locations of nature. A tradition emerged to organise the growing event in a new location every three years. Following the start in Verbiškės, Mėnuo Juodaragis took place in Sudeikiai settlement near Utena
Utena
Utena is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.Utena is an...
town in 2000-2002. The timing of the event also became fixed and falls on the last weekend of Summer. In 2003-2005, MJR was held in Kernavė
Kernave
Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site . It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania...
, the ancient capital of Lithuania. After a break in 2006, the festival took place on the island of Zarasas Lake in Zarasai
Zarasai
Zarasai is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Zarasas, north – Zarasaitis, southeast – Baltas, and east – Griežtas. Zarasaitis and Griežtas are connected by Laukesa rivulet....
town. The 13th edition of the festival was unique for a limited number of tickets and took place in Aukštadvaris Regional Park
Aukštadvaris Regional Park
Aukštadvaris Regional Park, established in 1992, covers 17,240 hectares in southeastern Lithuania near the town of Aukštadvaris.The park contains about 80 lakes, burial grounds, villages, and designated recreational areas. Among its cultural landmarks is an oak dedicated to the poet Adam...
.