Only a year after it was launched, the Spirit of Bourgas summer music festival can say with pride that it is becoming one of the hottest destinations on the summer festivals tour in Europe.

And while the 2008 edition was more of an exotic feature of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and was viewed with some skepticism, the second time around is proving more ambitious, aiming to lure people with high-quality performances, just metres from the sea.

Spirit of Bourgas will be held on August 14, 15 and 16 on the Bourgas central beach and its adjacent Sea Garden.

Such festivals are not something new for Bulgaria, with the small remote town of Kavarna on the northern Black Sea already taking the lead with its rock festival, but what makes the Spirit of Bourgas different is that it is targeted at young music fans, hence its name: The Spirit of Bourgas.

The other difference to Kavarna is that Bourgas is trying to please as many people as possible with as many performances as the festival can afford to book.

This year’s festival offers six stages, offering live performances of rock, reggae and ska, jazz and blues, hadcore and punk, ethno music, trance, techno, drum and bass – or "a full palette of music sounds, reaching you with the precise of the best modern sound!" as the website of the festival says. 

The stages are the main stage, dance arena, three concert arenas and a secondary DJ stage.

For those who spent their teenage years in the 1990s listening to alternative metal and funk rock, the gem of the festival would undoubtedly be the August 14 gig by US band Faith No More. Both the band’s front man Mike Patton and  bass player Billy Gould have had previous performances in Bulgaria working on separate projects, but this will be their first show in the country after the group reunited.

The other band which attracts a lot of attention is the Fun Lovin’ Criminals with their blend of hip hop beats, alternative style and bluesy rhythms. They take to the stage a day later fter Faint No More, on August 15.  Fun Lovin’ Criminals long ago became favourites in Bulgaria after their previous two appearances in the country, the last  in Sofia in 2006,  and their gig in Bourgas promises a lot of fun lovin’ emotions.

Besides the well known and loved rock bands, the Spirit of Bourgas will feature some top Bulgarian and foreign DJs.

While Faith No More is kicking off, LTJ Bukem, who many consider the founder of the drum and bass style, will be performing on a separate stage. The list of foreign DJs is dominated by the Dutch and German scene. It includes the well-known names of popular German techno DJ Alexander Kowalski,  Lauhaus (Laurens Lanting), MAKCIM, Boris Werner, Julien Chaptal, Tom Trago, DJ Aardvarck (Mike Kivits), Antal , CINNAMAN, Legowelt (Danny Wolfers), William Kouam Djoko, Quazar, Tony Boogs, Wouter Smit, Speedy J, Robert Powlson and Dorine Dorado. The Bulgarian scene is also well represented with the performances of DJ Balthazar and Stephan Panev.

Other than the rich programme festival, another attraction is the relatively low entrance fees, expected to draw the attention of fans from neighbouring countries. Spirit of Bourgas is one of the cheapest music events in Europe. One-day passes were sold online for 35 leva until June 10, when the price was changed to 40 leva. A three-day pass prior to June 10 was 90 leva, after which it was increased to 100 leva. At the door, one-day passes will cost 50 leva each, while three day passes will cost 120 leva. 

*For more on the festival, visit spiritofburgas.com