I'm leafing through the official guide to Belgrade Beer Fest 2013, looking at the names printed in the programme. Riblja Čorba, Alen Islamović, Kerber, Dubioza Kolektiv, Bajaga, Orthodox Celts, Partibrejkers. Just reading that list takes me back to the earlier years of the festival.
To me, that was the real Beer Fest. You could go for the music, for a beer or simply to spend an evening with friends. You didn't need to buy a ticket or wonder whether the night would be worth the money. That's why this old paper guide means much more to me today than it might seem at first glance.
Belgrade Beer Fest 2013: Five Days at Ušće
Belgrade Beer Fest 2013 took place at Ušće in Belgrade, Serbia, from 14 to 18 August. There were five days of music and free admission, as the festival announcement from that year confirms.
Free entry was a big part of its charm. You could come for one performance, stay longer than you intended or just drop by for a while. You paid separately for whatever you wanted to drink. Some people came for a particular band, some for the beer, and others simply wanted to be there, surrounded by people.
Looking through the guide, I'm reminded of how varied the music was. Alongside rock bands from Serbia and the wider region, there was pop, electronic music, brass music and much more. There was something for almost everyone, but certain voices and performances have always stayed with me.
Alen Islamović and the Songs of Bijelo Dugme
On the pages for Thursday, 15 August, the programme lists Alen Islamović & Kad Bi Bio Bijelo Dugme. Also on the bill were Riblja Čorba, Feud, Sirova Koža, Osmi Putnik and Generacija 5.
Alen has always been one of my favourite singers to hear live. His appearance at Beer Fest, and the songs associated with the legendary Yugoslav rock band Bijelo Dugme, meant a great deal to me. His is a voice I recognise immediately, and one I especially enjoy hearing on stage.
When I talk about those performances today, I tend to say simply "Bijelo Dugme". But the 2013 guide gives the more precise billing: Alen Islamović with Kad Bi Bio Bijelo Dugme. I'm glad I can still check that detail on paper rather than relying entirely on memory.
Some songs stay with us for years. We first hear them at home, on the radio or on cassette tapes, and then we hear them live and connect them with a different moment in our lives. I've written about that side of music nostalgia in How We Recorded Music from the Radio onto Cassette Tapes.
Gale from Kerber – My Favourite Voice at Beer Fest
If I had to choose the singer I most enjoyed hearing live at Beer Fest, it would be Gale from Kerber. Alen is also among my favourites, but Kerber has always held a special place for me.
Some bands are great to listen to at home. Others are the ones you particularly look forward to seeing on stage. For me, Kerber belongs to that second group. Whenever I think about the old Beer Fest, Gale is one of the first people who comes to mind.
In the 2013 guide, Kerber appears in the programme for Friday, 16 August. That day's pages also feature Dubioza Kolektiv, The Shapeshifters, Bjesovi, The Dibidus, Babe and Pookie featuring Bojana Stamenov. One glance at those pages shows just how many different performances could fit into a single festival night.
Orthodox Celts as the Sun Came Up
There is another memory I always associate with the earlier Beer Fest years: Orthodox Celts towards the end of the night, when morning was beginning to break. When I think of the Celts bringing a festival night to a close, I'm remembering that feeling from earlier editions.
It's one of my favourite memories of the festival. Daylight is arriving, but you're still there, listening to music. Moments like that made Beer Fest mean much more to me than any list of performers could explain.
In this particular guide, Orthodox Celts are listed for Saturday, 17 August 2013, alongside Bajaga & Instruktori, Boban Marković's brass band, E-Play, DLM and Hypnotized. The photograph shows where they appeared in that year's programme, while their name also takes me back to those other early mornings at previous festivals.
Even the Final Night Had Plenty to Offer
The programme for Sunday, 18 August, featured Boney M., Partibrejkers, Legende, Dejan Cukić & Spori Ritam Band, Block Out and the Talent Show – The Best Of. It was another reminder of just how many different kinds of music fans the festival brought together.
Some people opened the guide looking for Kerber, others for Bajaga or Boney M. You could choose the evening that suited you, but you might also discover a performer you hadn't originally come to see. That's exactly the kind of festival I enjoyed: several days, plenty of bands and room for everyone to experience it in their own way.
How Belgrade Beer Fest Changed Over the Years
When I say that Beer Fest lost some of its soul after the change in ownership, I'm describing how the festival felt to me as it changed. But some changes began earlier. In 2014, festival payment cards were introduced for drinks and souvenirs. Admission was also charged on the opening day that year, although entry remained free on the other four days.
In 2022, it was announced that SkyMusic would take over the Beer Fest brand. The announcement followed financial difficulties involving the previous organisers and unpaid fees owed to performers from the 2021 festival.
By the 2025 edition, the way visitors paid to attend had changed considerably. According to the official 2025 ticket prices, a regular one-day ticket cost 1,990 Serbian dinars and included unlimited beer. A regular three-day package cost 3,990 dinars.
I can understand why that kind of package would appeal to some people. But what if you only wanted to see one band, have a single beer or spend an hour or two there? The simplicity of the old Beer Fest was gone. You had to decide in advance whether the ticket made sense for your plans and your budget.
That's the biggest difference for me. I liked being able to turn up and decide for myself how long to stay and how much to spend. Once that freedom disappeared, the character of the gathering changed too.
In August 2026, the festival's future appeared uncertain. On 2 August, N1 reported that the usual Beer Fest announcements were missing, while separate concerts by Judas Priest and Dire Straits Legacy had been announced at Ušće. At the time of that report, the organiser had not responded to questions about the festival's future. For me, the prospect of individual concerts was not quite the same as looking forward to the old multi-day Beer Fest.
I'm Not the Only One Who Misses the Old Festival
When I looked at what people were saying about the more recent editions, I found a similar feeling in a Reddit discussion about Beer Fest. The original poster and some commenters compared the older festival with the 2025 edition, expressing disappointment with changes to the beer selection and the event's character.
In a discussion on the Serbian forum Krstarica, several people said that the ticket package made little sense if they only wanted a short visit and one or two beers. Others felt that the price was reasonable for an evening of live music and drinks.
These are individual opinions, not proof that everyone feels the same way. Still, I understand why the complaint keeps coming up. For some of us, the value of Beer Fest was partly in being able to join the evening without buying a ticket. Change that, and a big concert can still be a big concert while no longer feeling like the festival we once loved.
Why I Still Keep This Old Festival Guide
Maybe nostalgia plays a part in all of this. I'm sure it does. But the difference between free entry in 2013 and the ticket-and-beer packages of 2025 is real. So are the names printed on these pages, the dates of the performances and the voices that bring back memories of earlier Beer Fest nights.
I love it when an old object survives. A festival guide, an album sleeve or a cassette tape we've kept for years gives a memory something you can actually hold and look at again. Kerber, Alen and the Celts are still here on these pages, each in their own part of the programme.
When I open the guide, those are the people I remember. Gale, whom I most enjoyed hearing live at Beer Fest. Alen and the songs of Bijelo Dugme. Orthodox Celts, whose music I associate with the first light of morning. That's the Beer Fest that had soul for me, and the one I still miss.
Which year of Belgrade Beer Fest do you remember most fondly, and which performance has stayed with you? Do you remember Orthodox Celts as the sun came up? Share your memories in the comments.