"Students are winning" was the last message that echoed from the stage this year Nishville. At the end of the last concert, on August 16, the Niš band Bohemija brought down the curtain on the 32nd edition of the jazz festival with words that have become the main catchphrase of a part of society in Serbia in recent months.
viber_image_2026-08-17_19-17-56-685 Lavina"Avalanche" in Nišville
Before that performance, Niš metal band Avalanche, which brought Serbia to the Eurovision final this year, unequivocally supported the audience, who shouted the well-known "Pumpaj" twice during their performance.
There were about 200.000 visitors
Such gestures are similar to the one when, before last year's edition of Nišvila, the festival supported students and decided to provide a free set of tickets to students of Journalism and Communication Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš. However, it seems that the organizers are literally paying dearly for such decisions, since for two years in a row the festival has not received a single dinar from the Ministry of Culture.
Director of Nišvil Ivan Blagojević he said that the festival had about 200.000 visitors this year, although the accompanying program was shortened by two days.
To the audience, however, this year's Nashville didn't feel like a festival struggling to survive. The fortress was full during the four days, and performers such as Boney M, Incognito, Paquita D'Rivera and The Amy Winehouse Band took turns on the main stage.
Cheap kits
A set of tickets for the main program cost 4.500 dinars, which, when that amount is spread over the number of performers, means that the audience paid only a few hundred dinars for individual concerts, that is, 205 dinars per performer.
This is perhaps the biggest paradox of this year's Nashville: the audience got a festival with big international names for relatively little money. However, it seems that this does not mean anything to the Ministry of Culture - this year too, there were zero dinars for Nishville.
"For a serious festival, we have to plan a two-year budget. The city supported us brilliantly, but it happened at the end of April, said Blagojević and reminded that this is how we miss the "booking of January, when bands are best bought".
The problem, however, is not only about money. Blagojević also spoke about the administrative requirements of the state auditing institutions, which, as he claims, are asking the organizers for details about what each musician ate and where he slept.
"Culture is really threatened in every way. The state must solve it systemically, so that part of the income that companies would pay to the state can be directed to supporting culture," said Blagojević.
Crowded Fortress
Despite all that, on the last evening, the Nis rock and roll bands Daltoni, Galia, Lavina and Bohemia gathered a large number of people.
Galija turned Tvrđava into a great choir, a band that left Niš a long time ago on the Yugoslav and regional music scene, but returns to its city with songs that have become part of its identity.
Photo: Ana Adamović"Gallia" on Nišvila
Avalanche, on the other hand, brought a younger audience and a different energy. Their frontman Luka Arsenijević described Nišvil as "the soul of this city". "Nishville is culture, Nashville is art".
And on the previous three nights, Nashville had something to offer the audience.
The first evening brought together Lifetime Achievement Award winner Mikan Zlatković, guitarist
virtuosos Stochel Rosenberg, Yannis Constans and Vlatko Stefanovski with the British acid-jazz band Incognito.
The second evening was also the most attended. The most attention was attracted by the famous group Boney M, with which the singer Maisie Williams performed, with whom they celebrated 50 years since the release of their first album. The fortress was packed, and their performance became, according to the organizers, one of the most attended in the history of the main stage.
On the third night, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Afro Gitano, Dock in Absolute and other performers alternated jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and African and Balkan rhythms, while The Amy Winehouse Band, composed of musicians who played with the late singer, united the entire Fortress.
Plan B
Now, in the end, one has the impression that the unofficial slogan of Nishville, "Plan B", was more present than could be assumed. Plan B was not only a way to adapt the festival to the changed circumstances, but a new way of realizing it.
When one contractor canceled, another was sought. When there was not enough money, the program was shortened. When the festival was about to end, an extra night was found. And when there is not enough institutional support, a way is again sought for the festival to survive.
In a few days, preparations will begin for the new edition of Nishville, in the hope that Plan A will be welcomed next year.
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