Tbilisi Open Air

Tbilisi Open Air is an annual international music festival, with the emphasis on electronic and rock music, first held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 15–17 May 2009. After that the festival is organized each year and is widely considered as the biggest music festival in Caucasus region. The festival mainly maintains several-day outdoor event format.
As the organizers of Tbilisi Open Air clarify, the defining idea behind the festival is freedom. This is freedom from stress, clichés, social controls, freedom to create and express, freedom to experience what is valued by every single one of us as individuals.
It was first held in 2009 as an alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, which Georgia was disqualified from because of the political message of their song, "We Don't Wanna Put In".
2023
The 2023 edition was held on the 23-25th of June period.
23 June
Main Stage
Tom Odell
Bedford Falls
She Past Away
Tamada
Eye Stage
Etapp Kyle
Mattheis
Yanamaste
Le Violet
Zion Garden
Liquid Soul
Skizologic
AcidWave
Soyl B2B Ancient Om
Singer Stage
Tornike Gagoshvili
Reso Kiknadze Quartet
Kay G
Singer Jazz Foundation Jam
24 June
Main Stage
Kaleo
Rejjie Snow
Circus Mircus
Lua
Eye Stage
Ben Klock
Audrey Danza
OTHR
Zesknel (Live)
Zion Garden
Dirty Saffi
DJ Nuky
Psymmetrix
Katana
Singer Stage
Mechanical Rainbow
Dini Virsaladze Quartet
Sabina Chantouria
On The Road
Alexander Kharanauli
Process
Jam Session By Sandro
Nikoladze
25 June
Main Stage
Moderat
Imany
Ara
4D Monster Lobsters
Skazz
Eye Stage
Margaret Dygas
Rhadoo
OTHR
Gio Shengelia
Zion Garden
Braincell
Oogway
DM3
Stultitia
Chikovani
Singer Stage
Bacho Jikidze & Misi Wonderband
Pelargonia
Kemtet
Maikeru
Leftside Story and Ekoterine
Ducktape
2022
The 2022 edition was held on the 24-26th of June period and it was attended by more than 80 000 people. That broke the previous record and TOA 2022 became the most attended commercial music event of all time in the history of Georgia. The festival showed heavy support to Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war that broke out that year - through donating part of the ticket and merch sales to the Ukrainian cause, supporting Ukraine through all media and communication channels, inviting pro-Ukrainian acts, etc.
24 June
Main Stage
Cigarettes After Sex
Bedford Falls
Konoba
Kordz
4D Monster Lobsters
Meme
Eye Stage
Acid Pauli
Robag Wruhme
Jennifer Cardini
Bacho
Garden Stage
Giuseppe
Sashi
DM3
Chikovani
Dimitree
Ellarge
Singer Stage
Dini Virsaladze Quintet
Salome Tsulukidze & Band
Erekle Getsadze & Bad Habitz
Luka Topuria Quartet
Pelargonia
25 June
Main Stage
Alt-J
Moku Moku
არა
Killages
The Black Marrows
Eye Stage
Konstantin
Map.Ache
Chloe
Tomma
Garden Stage
Ajja
Oogway
Katana
Acnient Om
Kaya Matu
Singer Stage
Bacho Jikidze & Band
კოლექტივი
Reso Kiknadze Quintet
Zaza Marjanishvili Quartet
Melqo
Process
26 June
Main Stage
Okean Elzy
Rhye
Molchat Doma
Eko & Vinda Folio
წერილი
Nash Albert
Eye Stage
Petre Inspirescu
Barac
Gio Shengelia
Vako T
Zion Garden
Fungus Funk
Additivv
Ramyjin & Sukoharaa
Acidwave
Obri
Kassra
Marcuss
Infest
Holo
Singer Jazz Stage
Tornike Gagoshvili
Blinkroot
Levan Japaridze & Killer Band
Uma & Tuomas
Guja Mardini Quartet
Adikashvili & Gabadze
Papuna Sharikadze Quartet
2020-2021
In 2020, Tbilisi Open Air was set to held through 26 June to 28 June, but due to the covid pandemic, it was cancelled.
In 2021, TOA denied holding the concert once again.
2019
In 2019, TOA was held on the Lisi Wonderland field and went on for 3 days, with 4 stages operating. Total attendance was around 55 000. The festival dates coincided with 20 June Tbilisi Riots. In the light of those events, many statements were made from the festival promoters and artists from the festival stage.
21 June
Main Stage
Franz Ferdinand
MokuMoku
Loudspeakers
St. Nudes
4D Monster Lobsters
Eye Stage
Tobias.
Edit Select
Boyd Schidt
OTHR
Garden Stage
1200 Mics By Riktam
GMS (Music Group)
Psymmetrix
Aardvarkk
3 of Life
Oogway
Acidwave
Ancient OM
Singer Jazz Stage
Dini Virsaladze Quintet
Auditorium A Feat Guja Mardini
Kemo Sextet
Forest Rain
Tornike Gagoshvili
22 June
Main Stage
Unkle
Rhye
მწვანე ოთახი
არა
Nemra
Eye Stage
David August
Maayan Nidam
Gio Shengelia
Tomma
Bacho
Garden Stage
Pixel
Dirty Saffi
DJ Nuki
Marcuss
Katana
Ellarge
Singer Jazz Stage
Blues Factor
Freeride
Old Road Band
Zura Ramishvili Quartet
Zuka Simonishvili Quartet
Amaze
23 June
Main Stage
Mogwai
The Subways
Michelle Gurevich
Salio
Bedford Falls
Eye Stage
Andrey Pushkarev
Matthew Dekay
Cestlek
Mozzy
Vako T
Lasha Maruashvili
Zion Garden
Freedom Fighters
Nigel
Obri & Zen
Additivv
Singer Jazz Stage
Bacho Jikidze & Band
Windshield
Lekso Ratiani
Reso Kiknadze Sextet
String Quartet Feat. Dani
Blue Moor
2018
In 2018, TOA was held on Lisi Wonderland and had 3 day lineup. Around 70 artists performed on the festival. A new stage - Eye Stage was introduced which was devoted to Techno/House music. Also a new space - Singer Jazz Stage was created which was devoted to mostly jazz artists. Total attendance around 45 000.
22 June
Main Stage
Kayakata
Sevdaliza
Beardyman
Che Lingo
Toyshen
Eko & Vinda Folio
Eye Stage
Roman Flugel
Cleveland
Gio Shengelia
Autumn Tree
Vako T b2b Mzhavia
Zion Garden
Avalon
Ritmo
Fungus Funk
Acidwave
Katana
Singer Jazz Stage
Reso Kiknadze Quintet
23 June
Main Stage
Róisín Murphy
Rachael Yamagata
Papooz
St. Nudes
MokuMoku
Killages
Eye Stage
Alex Niggerman
Matthias Meyer
Sascha Sibler
Liza Rivs
Bero
Stimmhalt
Promescu
Zion Garden
Yestermorrow
Kala
Eldario
Oogway
Marcuss
Ancient Om
Ellarge
Space Teryaki
Tabu
Beka Talakhadze
Singer Jazz Stage
Dzini virsaladze Trio
Blue Moor
Lasha Abashmadze Quintet
24 June
Main Stage
Tom Odell
Konoba
Green Room
Salio
Sophie Villy
Lua
Eye Stage
Super Flu
Gio Shengelia
Innelea
Dastia
So Laut
Bekuchi
Zion Garden
Anthill
Additivv
Obri & Zen
Neverthesame
Dmitree
Infest
Dm3
Kalratry
Kaya Matu
Ra
Singer Jazz Stage
Zura Ramishvili Trio
Amaze
Papuna Sharikadze trio feat Misho Urushadze
2017
In 2017, TOA was held on Lisi wonderland and had 3 day lineup with around 40 artists. Around 30 000 persons attended the festival.
16 June
Main Stage
Anathema (band)
Sevdaliza
Backwarmer
Psychonaut 4
Dagdagani
Golden Stage
Nino Katamadze
Ripperton
Cobert
Bacho
Kozmana
Zion Garden
Eldario
Space Teriyaki
Dimitree
Marcuss
Tabu
Additivv
17 June
Main Stage
Leningrad (band)
Soft Eject
Loudspeakers
Eko & Vinda Folio
არა
Golden Stage
Friendly Mosquito
Bedford Falls
Windshield
Alex.Do
Greenbeam & Leon
Sevda
Iazikzazubami
Zion Garden
Psysex
Go2sky
Never thesame
Meno
Infest
Kaya matu
18 June
Main Stage
Archive (band)
Young Georgian Lolitaz
Salio
Kung Fu Junkie
The Black Marrows
Golden Stage
Moku Moku
Sexy Bicycle
SF - X
Oxia
Wiedmak
Vako T
Zion Garden
Dj Goblin
Arjun Apu
Amrit Pavan
Ougway
Psyrati
Katana
2016
In 2016, TOA presented 3 day line up with over 60 artists. Festival had 3 stages - Main stage, LTFR/Night stage and Pirate Bay stage. Total attendance was over 30 000. Festival was held on 29–31 July, on a location near Lisi Lake, which received nickname "Lisi Wonderland".
29 July
Main Stage
Air (French band)
Morcheeba
Motorama (band)
Kung - Fu Junkie
Dihaj
Bedford Falls
LTFR/Night Stage
Adriatique
Nikakoi & TBA
Vako Key
Lasha Craft
Pirate Bay Stage
Aardvark
Pogo
FOG
Psart
Katana
Marcuss
Meno - Project Pheodal
Saba
Amit Pavan
30 July
Main Stage
Unkle
Steve Vai
Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz
Backwarmer
Scarlet.
Lelocity
LTFR/Night Stage
Moodymann
Betoko
Henning Baer
Vako T.
Tuji
Rejjie Snow
Luna 999
Cutkill & Shining
Sabanadze
Tareshi
Exit
Pirate Bay Stage
Clarity
Dima Dadiani
Ciga
Subex
Mangiphera
31 July
Main Stage
Damien Rice
Tricky
Blue Foundation
Eko & Vinda Folio
Robi Kukhianidze& Ketato
Quartet Diminished
LTFR/Night Stage
Dense & Pika
The Forest
Natalie Beridze TBA
Mao
Friendly Mosquito
Kordz
ზურმუხტისფერი ბედის ორდენი
MAMM
EKO
Pirate Bay Stage
Black Dub Odyssey
Vazhmarr
Beveluke
Uru
Teko
Liza Rivs
2015
In 2015, TOA presented 5 day line up with over 60 artists. This was by far the biggest musical event which has ever happened in Caucasus or Middle Earth and the festival broke all records in social media, having three times bigger feedback than in 2013. Also this was the first time when except main stage, 2 additional stages were built - golden stage and Bassiani stage. Attendance was over 50 000 which was also a record for the whole region.
3 July
Main Stage
Zemfira
Akvarium
The Tiger Lillies
Mellow
Ducktape
Golden Stage
Kollektiv Turmstrasse
Stephan Bodzin
The Forest
Greenbeam & Leon
NewA
4 July
Main Stage
Archive (band)
Soap&Skin
Gravity
The Black Marrows
The Mins
Golden Stage
Mujuice
Oimactta
Zurkin
Green Room feat Dato Lomidze
Ara
Erekle Deisadze & Vinda Folio
5 July
Main Stage
Black Label Society
Bambir
Sophie Villy
Scratch The Floor
Vanilla Cage
Golden Stage
Gui Boratto
Bacho & Cobert
Vako Key
Bero
Denis Jones
Tomma Chaladze
Tserili
Old Road Band
6 July
Main Stage
Beth Hart
Kill It Kid
Salio
MaMM
The Jetbird
Golden Stage
The Georgians
The Pulse
MTP
Gacha
Vaska
Gabunia
Vako T
Lasha Craft
7 July
Main Stage
Placebo (band)
Loudspeakers (band)
The Bearfox
Afternoon Version
backwarmer
Golden Stage
Lady Heroine
Mother on Mondays
The Window
2014
In 2014 the festival returned to three-day outdoor festival format. Total attendance was 21 000. Although criticized for smaller line-up compared to former years, the organizers announced this was "a decision essential to switch back to the fields and prepare for 2015, which should be the biggest event both by line-up and scale". Due to heavy rain and storm on the 2nd day of the festival, Chinawoman and Lapalux were cancelled on 7 June and were added to 8 June line-up.
6 June
Nino Katamadze
Nikakoi
Gravity
Ara
Lasha Kicks
The Black Marrows
7 June
Oimactta
Lapalux
Chinawoman
Alina Orlova
Loudspeakers
Scratch the Floor
The Jetbird
The Pulse
8 June
Nochniye Snaiperi
Green Room
Kung fu Junkie
The Bearfox
Electric Appeal
Weekend Pop
2013
In 2013 the festival was held on the Dinamo Arena Stadium. Total attendance was 19 000. With Deep Purple as headliner, the line-up was the biggest happening in the region and received a lot of local and foreign media interest, especially from Armenia, Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Despite this, after the event the organizers of the festival stated their opinion that Tbilisi Open Air belonged more to outdoor fields than Stadiums or any kind of buildings. "We received invaluable experience, but the heart of the festival stays with the fields" - stated organizer Achiko Guledani - "next time we will try to accept the challenge to bring even bigger line-up there."
5 June
Deep Purple
Infected Mushroom
Tricky
The Subways
Modeselektor
Black Strobe
Kid Jesus
2012
The 2012 event was held on Tbilisi Valley at the outskirts of the city. Headliner of the festival was a legendary Russian band DDT, which caused a lot of local interest. Total attendance was over 50 000, which remains as a record not only in Georgia, but in whole Caucasus region.
2 June
Lyapis Trubetskoy
Wasp'N'Hornet
Tai Chi Swayze
Svansikh
Pornopoezia
U.R.
Outsider
dOP
Zoo Brazil
Green Room
Sikha
Bero
Vako K
The Forest
Vako T
3 June
DDT
Dub FX
Transmitter
Plus Master
Rema
Zurgi
Loudspeakers
2011
The 2011 event was held on Tbilisi Hippodrome. Total Attendance was 10 000.
11 June
Herr Styler
Wallace Vanborn
The Benedicts
Mutual Friends
The Smile
Ketrine & Me
Tako & Green Mama
MAMM
Z For Zulu
12 June
Moodorama
The Fades
String
Exit
Pornopoezia
Salio
Space Jam
U.R.
2009
The 2009 event was held in Tbilisi, on Sharden Street (15 May) and on local hippodrome (16–17 May). Total attendance was 35 000. As it was the first big happening since 1980 Tbilisi Rock Festival, the festival was covered by foreign media: Times Online, Reuters, El Mundo, Corriere della Sera, Associated Press, Nouvel Observateur etc. 23 bands from nine countries participated in the festival. It served as an important simulator to the local music business and caused a boost in the numbers of new artists.
15 May
Transglobal Underground
The Black & Reds
Cheese People
The Travelling Band
Play Paranoid
Smile
16 May
Jazzanova Live feat. Paul Randolph
ANDY
Curry And Coco
Laki Lan
The Haggis Horns
Motel Connection
Keti Orjonikidze And Dr. Saga's Funk Rock Project
The Dhol Foundation
17 May
Rook And The Ravens
Brooklyn
String
Cynic Guru
The Blue Van
Dubstepler
Ten Bears
Stephane & 3G
Fred Falke
Camping
In 2012 Tbilisi Open Air started allowing tent camping as an option for festival lodging. The campground site is adjacent to the venue grounds and has its own entrance from the venue. Since then festival receives campers from different countries.
Weather
The festival is held most often in June. Temperatures during the festival's history have ranged from 25 °C in May to 32 °C on June. Tbilisi has mostly welcoming weather in summer and the same holds true for the event.
Management
Tbilisi Open Air is run by Altervision Group which mainly consists of former and active musicians/producers. The first concept of the festival was created by Achiko Guledani, Vaho Babunashvili, Irakli Nadareishvili and Beqa Japaridze in 2009. Nowadays the decision making board of Tbilisi Open Air consists of 7 people. The festival is booked by David Tsintsadze.
References
External links
www.tbilisiopenair.ge
https://www.facebook.com/tbilisiopenair
Music festivals in Georgia (country)
Open Air
Tourist attractions in Tbilisi
Electronic music festivals in Georgia (country)
2000s in Tbilisi
2010s in Tbilisi
Rock festivals in Georgia (country)
Music festivals established in 2009
2009 establishments in Georgia (country)
Summer events in Georgia (country)