GOZO’S MOST POPULAR FESTIVAL

About
The Gozo Music Festival, an annual event that is now part of the Gozo calendar, originally came to life 5 years ago, in 2002. The 2002 festival followed one organised by the Ministry for Gozo between 15th December 1999 and 1st January 2000 as part of Gozo’s New Millennium Festivities.

Why this event?

During the winter of 2001, a number of local bands where invited to do a gig every Sunday in Gozo. Gigs were, until then, something relatively new. This developed into the idea of bringing such bands together for one evening alongside an international band.

The Gozo Music Festival was thus born. Being a new project for Gozo, which had never had a large number of artists coming together for one event, it was not easy to convince authorities and sponsors to believe in it. But the organisers remained positive, and were certain that the Gozo Music Festival will be an asset for Gozo.
The first festival took place in a marquee tent at the Ninu Cremona Complex grounds in Victoria on Sunday 31st March 2002. The festival, which started in the early afternoon, included Malta’s two best bands at the time, Screen Daisy and Corkskrew, and Gozo’s best band at the time, Sole Domain.

As international guest band, Eiffel 65 did a one-hour gig. Attendance was encouraging; not only Gozitans but also Maltese youths joined the crowd and experienced the fantastic atmosphere of the night.
The second Gozo Music Festival took place on Sunday 30th March 2003 at the Leli Farrugia Football ground, a venue provided by the Victoria Local Council. As the number of tickets sold were double those of the previous year, the organisers could no longer use the Ninu Cremona Complex and had to find a new venue that could hold a bigger marquee. The football ground was ideal for this type of festival. The organisers knew from the first festival that the local bands exchanged ideas with the international guest band, and therefore chose the international guests with this in mind. Again, the best bands at the time, Scar and 4play, were the main local bands in the 2003 Festival. The international guests were Magic Box, Ingrid and Gabri Ponte. For the clubbers, a deejay set was given by Paolo Rossato from Radio DJ in Italy.

The third Gozo Music Festival took place on Saturday 27th March 2004, again at the Leli Farrugia Football ground, thanks to the Victoria Local Council who believed in the festival and made it possible to organise it again. The local artists on the night were Malta’s best band Winter Moods and the top Maltese rapper Hooligan. The international guests were Italy’s top singers Erika and Lhasa, and DJ Rune from Denmark who gave a one-hour deejay set.

The fourth edition of the biggest festival ever to be organised in Gozo took place between New Year’s Eve, Friday 31st December 2004 and Saturday 1st January 2005. Again the venue was the Leli Farrugia football ground, in Victoria. For this year the Gozo Music Festival needed a new line up. The coming of the New Year meant that it was not only an event for young people but for all the family, and a number of families did choose to celebrate the New Year at the Festival. The artist invited was U-ban, always top in the Maltese Hits. The international guests came from Germany: Groove Coverage and the official singer for BT, Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk, and the female singer Jen Johnston. The evening buzzed until the early hours of the New Year.

The fifth festival again covered the New Year’s celebrations between Saturday 31st December 2005 – 1st January 2006. Unfortunately this festival had to be different from the others. During construction work in a nearby area, the fence wall of the Leli Farrugia Ground was accidentally demolished, just 2 days before the event, and the authorities could not issue the necessary permits due to possible dangers in the area. As time was very short for the organisers to find another venue, it was decided to hold the festival indoors, at the XS Club. Many people where disappointed because of the lack of space, but the organisers offered the chance not only to enjoy the evening but also to join in a party the following afternoon at the XS Club. The prime Maltese artist for the fifth festival was Tenishia in a live PA; the international guest was Kirsty Howkshaw, the singer for the Tiesto album Just Be.

The sixth festival has taken place on Saturday 18th August 2007 in a new venue; the Maxtura Fields on the way to Marsalforn, Gozo. The Gozo Music Festival 2007 was based on three main arenas with three different types of music for all generations. The organisers have made their best to make the sixth festival, one with a real difference, and the biggest and best ever.