Wikipedia
Demofest is an annual music festival held at the Kastel Fortress in Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded in 2008 with the aim to provide young unsigned bands with an opportunity to develop and revive the rock scene of former Yugoslavia. Today, it is the biggest festival of unsigned bands in Southeastern Europe and one of the biggest free festivals in this region.
Demofest consists of competitive and non-competitive program. Competition is open to all unsigned rock, punk, pop, metal, hip hop or reggae bands originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro or Macedonia. Regional and world music stars are featured in non-competitive program and some of the biggest hosted names include Guano Apes, Kosheen, Gentleman, Stereo MCs, Kelis, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Triggerfinger, Asian Dub Foundation, Kiril Džajkovski, Dubioza kolektiv, Majke, Psihomodo pop, Damir Urban, S.A.R.S and Partibrejkers.
From 2008 to 2015, over 3,000 unsigned bands applied for the competition and 61 performers played in the non-competitive program. Entry to all festival events is free.
In 2013, Demofest was included on UNESCO list of projects contributing to cultural rapprochement and establishing ties between countries of former Yugoslavia. It was supported by international institutions on several occasions, while all relevant regional media and numerous world media such as The Guardian, Vice or MTV reported on the festival. This music event was also featured in the film " Zduhač Means Adventure", whose plot follows several characters on their journey to Demofest.