The sixth Izrekanja will be a day shorter, but no less bombastic and full of top-notch poetry, performance, and music.
The first of the two evenings will be marked by local artist LARA GOBEC with the premiere of the poetic performance "Sacrifice", with which she continues in a creative sense last year's extremely successful performance "With Love, Lola", and returnees to our festival stage, Grammy-winning top musicians from Nashville, united in the musical supergroup Six One Five Collective, which brought you to your feet last year, and this year they promise one of the musical highlights of the Celje summer.
LARA GOBEC (2001) has been writing since elementary school. In her first year of high school, she participated in the theater performance Sanjati?, directed by Žiga Divjak. In her third year, she was selected for the Najst competition organized by SNG Drama, with her play Na konco. The reading performance of all selected works was directed by Luka Marcen. In 2020, she won the Župančičeva frulica competition, was a finalist in the mala Veronika competition, and was published on the LUD Literature and Novi zvon portals. In the same year, her poems were published in the anthology of young Celje poetry In zemlja je vibirala kakor živo telo (Gimnazija Celje – Center and Festival Izrekanja). She is currently studying law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana and, in parallel, comparative literature and literary theory at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana. She publishes columns on the LUD Literatura portal, and her short story About Former Girls and Teflon Pots was included in the anthology of contemporary Slovenian short stories by young authors, Polževi razmisleki (Layer Publishing House 2023). She also performs with a poetic performance of her own poetry, With Love, Lola. In 2022, she was selected for the Faberllull international literary residency in the Catalan town of Olot.
SACRIFICE is the second part of a monodramatic diptych that the young poet and playwright began with the performance With Love, Lola, premiered at last year's dictations. This year's performance is once again built through multiple poetic voices that try to preach to the poet and expect her to submit to their general truths. Hence the concept of sacrifice, which for a rebellious individual means above all silencing her own language, through which she relentlessly pronounces herself.
SIX ONE FIVE COLLECTIVE (Nashville, Tennessee, USA) is a collaborative creative project of four musicians who create a blend of country, Americana, folk and pop.
Their sound, marked by distinct harmonies, masterful vocals and solos, is reminiscent of American music giants such as Fleetwood Mac, Little Big Town and others. Their performances are an eclectic mix of original compositions, hits written for other artists and the hit songs that have become the band's trademark.
Six One Five Collective have performed all over the world, supporting artists such as Lennon Stella, John Legend, India Arie, John Hiatt, Kenny Chesney and others. They have performed on the famous Grand Ole Opry and have toured internationally.
They have also created songs for artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Steven Tyler, Kesha, George Strait, Lee Brice, Ingrid Andress, Marc Broussard and Sister Hazel, as well as for television series such as Nashville, Parenthood, Selling Sunset, Love Island and American Ninja Warrior!
This year, their song Kindness was featured on the reality show American Idol, and they are coming to Celje as part of the international Good Vibes tour.
The Six One Five Collective's guest appearance was made possible by the US Embassy in Slovenia.
The festival is hosted by the Celje Central Library, and the main sponsor is the City of Celje.