Sziget Festival – Day One

When my employment with Index suddenly ended, I thought that after three years, this would be the first time I wouldn't be able to attend the Sziget Festival. I was pleasantly surprised when a weekly pass appeared out of nowhere, and not just a standard pass, but one that gave me access to the VIP area, where I could talk to musicians and performers and do what I had been doing for years as a full-time journalist, only this year without time limits or editorial pressure.

I write what I want, when I want.

After more than three years, I can say that I have enough experience on both sides of the stage as a music journalist and a musician. Music criticism is a dying profession, so even though I no longer do it full-time, I thought it was important to continue this work, even if only on my own behalf. I still have a lot to learn, as you don't become a critic in three years, but perhaps I have enough experience to be able to write meaningful reviews over time.

Scan & Plan

I decided to start my own blog on our band's website, so I can write about everything I like, but I didn't think that the big kick-off would be the first day of the Sziget Festival.

My brother and I are going to rock the festival this year together. For those who don't know him, he's such an awesome beatboxer that your jaw will drop faster than a lightning strike. We started our little adventure by going through the line-up, getting ready for the performers who would move us and who we wanted to see.

The two winners on the first day were Little Simz and Papa Roach, so we were expecting a mixed but definitely exciting lineup.

Our journey was the usual: we hopped on the HÉV in Budapest — the Hungarian abbreviation for the local railway, which is basically a train within the city that connects the inner transport network with the suburbs — and we headed for Óbuda Island. This is where the Sziget Festival has been held for decades, and with more than thirty years of history, the event is older than any member of my band... Crazy.

Screams with Simz

We arrived at the festival site surprisingly quickly, even though I was sure that we would be completely exhausted by the time we got our tickets. In the end, that wasn't the case. After a leisurely 15-minute wait in line, we broke through Hadrian's wall of armbands and rushed to the toilets, the beer tap, and the main stage, where there were only minutes left until Little Simz was due to start.

I had never seen the performer live, even though she is one of my favorite hip-hop artists.

What's more, I even wrote a review of her album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, which I still consider one of the best albums of 2021. I joined the somewhat nerve-wracking crowd with high expectations — or, to be more precise, with faith and desire — but in the end, the concert was worth every trampling I endured. I'll write more about the performance in the concert review section of the blog ;)

Approach the Roach

After a big "hello" time with Little Simz, as she always says it on stage, we set off to pick up my little brother's friends. We'll be spending most of the week with them, as the last day will be a beatbox show featuring the two finalists of the 2024 World Championships in Tokyo. One of them is the gold medalist Kowler Rangers, the French guys who have a cheeky sense of music and humor, while the other is the silver medalist Hungarian team - perhaps I can call them the audience favorites - the kings of showmanship, MeOne, of which my dear brother is also a member.

Although getting the team together wasn't a walk in the park, we finally got there just in time, so we rushed over to the Revolut Stage to catch the show of one of my favorite bands from my teenage years. I had already had the chance to see Papa Roach live before, and they usually put on a good show and their music is spot on.

This time was no different, and I'll be putting together the details for you in a rocking concert review later ;)

The bottom line is that the band set the party aflame, I screamed my lungs out to the old favorites. Only two songs I was really looking forward to were left off the set list, but as we know, you can't have everything you want every time you want it. The Sziget audience surprisingly caught on to the show, and when it came time to commemorate Chester Bennington, powerful emotions were unleashed while they were playing In the End.

Charlie XXX

During the concert, at the request of the guys, we looked up at the Revolut Stage VIP section, although the scaffolding was about as stable as a drunk flamingo. The VIP section of the main stage was definitely better when we rushed over to watch Charlie XCX's concert, which surprised us in three ways.

1. Firstly, I didn't understand whether this show was about music or body fluids, even though I saw a few things as a musician who draws inspiration from hard rock, heavy metal, and the glam era.

2. Secondly, I had no idea that the girl was born in 1992.

3. Thirdly, the guys and I realized that the musical gap between the two main English language markets — the UK and the US — has now grown so wide that I can only name a few artists from the past five years who are considered global stars, come from the US, and are really close to my heart, while the British market has produced quite a few such names.

After the show, I bumped into my buddy Laci Rigó — an amazing guitarist — and one of his musician friends. They enjoyed Charlie XCX's concert more than I did, although they were disappointed by the absence of certain hits. Sad.

Tomorrow to follow

After the speed meeting with Laci, towards the end of the evening, me and the beatbox crew wandered around the island once more, took a look at Don Diablo's set, checked the stage, where they are going to perform on the last day, and, driven by some strange impulse, I also checked out the ABBA tribute show.

There I met Rakovits Örs, also a fellow musician, whom I met some times ago at a university music event where he was the organizer and we were the performers. It's still a great memory, but more on that later in the memories section of the blog ;)

Since he'll be out all week, there's a good chance we'll run into each other again.

As it's only the first day of the festival, I don't want to draw any big conclusions about the overall feeling yet, I'll have time for that later in the week, but I'm curious to see what else Sziget has in store for us in 2025.