Singer Richard Krajčo, in a picture from June 19, 2021.
Prague – The Porta Tramp and Country Music Festival, which will take place this year from June 23 to 25 in Lesní theater in Řevnice u Prahy, will once again cross genre boundaries. The program of the 57th edition will be opened as a guest by Richard Krajčo, known from the pop group Kryštof. In Řevnice, the most successful musicians from 14 regional rounds will compete for the victory in the competition for interpretation and author's Port. Almost 230 competitors applied for the festival this year, just like last year. Jiří Vondráček informed journalists about this today on behalf of the organizer.
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“We want the dramaturgy of the festival to be varied, that's why we opened the dramaturgical scissors some time ago. Porta is no longer nested in the genre of folk and country, it brings music that transcends borders for a receptive audience,” said a member of the Porta Festival Council Vondráček. He recalled that in the past Marta Kubišová, the group Buty or the singer Xindl X performed at Porta.
This year's guests, whose recitals will be interspersed with competitive performances, will include, for example, Jaroslav Samson Lenk, Petr Bende, Robert Křestűan or the group Rangers/Swimmers. The group VeHiBa with singer Veronika Bartošová, who last year won the interpretation and author's Porta for the song Zápasím, will also perform.
“The concert program does not end at the Porta, there is playing and singing in the area for visitors until the morning,” he said. Vondraček.
In addition to the interpretation and author's Porta, the festival organizers also announce other prizes. Last year, the jury awarded the Writers' Community Prize for the best text, which was won by Ondřej Podeszwa from the folk band MeziMěsto for the words of the song S váhami na křídlech. The Ostrava singer-songwriter René Matlášek won the Country Radio Award, while the jury awarded the Czech Radio Region Award to a group of musicians called Faux Pase Fonet. The award of the Union of Authors and Performers (SAI) was won by Alena “Alishi” Střelečková, a folk/country crossover singer-songwriter. The young Czech folk and folk rock band Hřích was successful in the audience vote.
The Golden Porta for their contribution to folk and country music and many years of dedicated work in organizing the Porta was awarded to Porta chair Anna Roytová and Marie “Amunka” Navrátilová, organizer of the regional round Porta Praha and the long-time director of the Mlejn music club.
Porta was founded in Ústí nad Labem in 1967, from where it had to leave during the normalization period. It then took place in many places in the Czech Republic and finally found a base in Pilsen. For several years crosses the boundaries of the orthodox country and folk festival, which it was in the beginning. The days when bands with electric instruments were whistled at the festival are a thing of the past. Since 2008, the national final has been held in the Forest Theater in Řevnice near Prague.
