A total of 214 young bands from across Slovakia applied to the open call of the Garáž project, organized by the European Capital of Culture Trenčín 2026 in collaboration with the Pohoda festival. Garáž focuses on young bands, musicians, and artists, creating a space for them to showcase their work, gain education, and network.
The symbol of the project is an actual Garage—the smallest stage we know from Pohoda. For the fourth year in a row, after the festival, it is packed up and transported to the center of Trenčín, where it becomes the venue for concerts by 20 bands. These bands will perform in August over three Saturdays (August 17, 24, and 31) in the area of the Cultural and Creative Center Hviezda in Trenčín.
We talked about the upcoming edition with musician and publisher Jana "Shina" Lokšenincová and artistic director of Trenčín 2026, Lenka Kuricová.
You can listen to the podcast in the player below, as well as on popular podcast platforms like Podbean, Spotify, and Apple Podcast.
Lenka, Garáž is in its fourth year now. How do you evaluate its progress so far?
Lenka Kuricová: Garáž has become one of our most significant projects. Each year, there's a larger audience, and more bands are applying. Since last year, the number of applications has doubled. We thought that a hundred applications was amazing, but this year we evaluated 214 bands. If this trend continues, we'll need to allocate more time for evaluations next year.
Each edition has been slightly different, and Garáž has grown gradually. We calibrate the project based on feedback, whether it's from the audience, the bands themselves, or jurors and people from the music scene. We also add a new element each year.
Last year was fantastic for me; the bands that performed were great, there was an amazing atmosphere, and we received positive feedback from the audience. We also managed to engage people with music that could be considered alternative and not widely known.
We had a multi-generational audience, and based on our monitoring, we found out that the oldest participant was 78 years old. Even people who typically don't attend concerts stopped by, often just passing through the park, and ended up staying for the performances. They listened, grabbed some refreshments, and spent time at Garáž. Events like this add value to the city, which is one of the pillars and goals of the European Capital of Culture 2026 title—to invigorate city life. It's also about bringing diverse culture to the city and surprising residents with something they might not have known.
Shina: Yes, this is great—essentially putting yourself in people's way and catching their interest. When you organize an event behind closed doors where people have to pay, only those who are already interested will come. But when you place it in their path, they have to pass through it, and we often find that they are happy to engage with it, which wouldn't happen otherwise.
When we talked about Garáž last year, I asked many people about their connection to a garage and whether they started out in one. What was your experience?
Shina: My father had a garage on the other side of town with a Škoda parked inside. I grew up in Nová Dubnica, not far from Trenčín. He spent his free time in that garage; it was his space. I definitely didn't play music there—I had to practice the piano at home while my dad was in the garage. Although I didn’t start in a garage, it was common back then to practice in garages because there weren’t many other spaces. That’s probably why the garage became a symbol of musical beginnings. There weren’t many community spaces like Hviezda where people could play. Cultural centers weren’t very accessible, and garages on the outskirts of town were convenient for loud music. But I wasn’t part of anything like that, nor did I play loud music—I had to practice classical pieces like Bach, and that’s hard to do in a garage.
For projects like Garáž to work within the ECOC 2026 framework, many people need to be involved. That’s also why we’re talking today.
Shina: I like that projects like this are being done. I’m also part of another project—KCN Single in Nitra. From my perspective, bands have very few opportunities to express themselves or apply to something unless they want to go on TV talent shows, which are a completely different thing. Projects like Garáž stir up the scene, and it’s always great when something is happening. If nothing else, it gives bands a place to apply. They have a deadline and need to submit something, maybe even a music video or something distributed through Spotify or YouTube. They have to push themselves to publish their music by the deadline if they want to apply, and think about how to prepare it well enough to catch someone's attention—knowing that there will be a jury of people who could help them advance. It forces them to do more work than they might usually do. Also, there are ambitious bands that always do their work excellently, which is why the level of our scene is so high now.
It's really great that Garáž exists. Last year, I was on the jury for the first time, and I remember thinking that 95 bands were a lot. I went through the names first, and I didn’t know most of them. I’ve been releasing albums for bands for over 20 years and am active in the scene, yet I didn’t know most of the applicants. I knew a few by name, but I hadn’t heard their music. And this year, over 200 applications came in, and the same thing happened. Again, I knew very few of them. If bands are emerging at this pace, our scene is really on the rise.
I would have expected fewer applications after a year, thinking there just aren’t that many bands.
Shina: Exactly. I didn’t form an opinion on it; I almost forgot about it because I didn’t expect to continue with this project since I’m not in Trenčín or part of a team that discusses it all year. When I got the offer to join the jury again this spring, I thought, "Oh right, we did this last year, it’ll be fine." The thought crossed my mind whether there would be more or fewer bands this time. It was really shocking that more than 200 applications came in, and only a few were from last year.
Lenka: Yes, just a few.
Shina: And yet, there wasn’t a rule saying they couldn’t apply again. We definitely need to keep going with Garáž, develop it, and it’s great that you’re adding more benefits. When bands know they might be selected for the Pohoda festival or even get to go to Norway, and that people will be talking about it, or other festivals might invite them, then they have something to hold onto.
One last thing—it’s very similar to when new record labels emerge. Bands realize someone is out there, and then they start to surface. I experienced this in the early 2000s. Bands were playing somewhere, but when a new label came along, they suddenly surfaced and made themselves known. This project is excellent for that kind of emergence.
When you were reviewing the 214 bands, musicians, and artists who applied, did you have any specific (including personal) criteria for selecting them?
Lenka Kuricová: There were a few official criteria that formed part of our open call. Bands, solo artists, and various types of musical groups could apply, but they couldn’t have released more than one album. We didn’t impose any age restrictions, so even someone over fifty could apply. There were no genre limitations either; we focused on beginners.
When it came to the actual evaluation, each of us judges had our own perspective. We tried to make our selection in such a way that each of us represented something different—not in terms of genre, but in terms of needs. For instance, if you're from a record label, you might be looking for something specific, and in my case, as part of the EHMK, I was focused on finding bands that aligned with our project's needs and audience. We always include music experts on the jury who are knowledgeable about specific genres. So I believe that in our evaluations, each of us relied on our personal tastes, whether something resonated with us or not. Only after that did we consider other factors.
In our spreadsheet, each of us marked bands that "caught our ear" with green, those we were unsure about with orange, and those we would eliminate with red. This created a kind of traffic light system. During elimination, we not only considered whether someone liked or disliked the music but also took into account the overall presentation.
For each project, we had quite a bit of information—how many concerts they had played, whether they had any media coverage, what they had achieved so far, and how they might perform live. From that, you can get a pretty good sense of what the band is about.
Interestingly, four out of five of us on the jury clearly agreed on 15 bands. We asked the fifth judge why they hadn’t marked those bands in green. We first clarified which acts stood out to us, and only then did we move on to a broader selection. We discussed in detail what caught our attention and what didn’t, which also revealed our personal and other criteria. As a result, we were able to immediately select 10 to 15 favorites.
This year, 216 bands applied in total. Among them were many guitar bands that play rock music, with several having been active for up to 20 years. There were also young guitar bands, most of which had very high-quality music videos. There were relatively few acts connected with folk music or world music. Singer-songwriters, especially those singing in English, were strongly represented. And, of course, the electronic scene—either purely instrumental or with vocals—was also well represented.
Does this selection of 20 musicians and bands say anything about the current Slovak music scene?
Shina: It depends on what you compare it with. Compared to the scene 20 years ago, there were significantly more bands singing in Slovak back then. There were definitely fewer bands singing in English. Music was much more instrumental in the sense that the electronic scene was not yet as developed. This was also because home recording and music production were just starting out. Most of the work was done in studios. As technology evolved over time, many more people started recording and engaging in electronic production. Ableton Live and other programs emerged, making music creation much easier.
Many people produce music at home, and nobody knows about them. Some create music just for themselves. They might publish it on Spotify, but they’re not striving for a place in the scene. Then there are ambitious projects and bands that are fighting for their place, want to be present, want to be on Rádio_FM, perform at festivals, and play a lot of live shows.
From my perspective, the Slovak scene is developing very interestingly. We have many good artists—instrumentalists and singers. It's evident that education through YouTube and various platforms is working, and everything is moving much faster than when there were only Basic Art Schools. Today, musicians learn from live musicians directly via the internet, and you can hear it in their work. Twenty years ago, hardly anyone made a music video, maybe just once a year. Now, young artists are daring to do it for almost every song. They release singles along with music videos. The amount of new music and bands is growing exponentially.
We’ll see what happens with the live scene, how many will survive, and who will be able to do something with it. There’s a big difference between being 15-20 years old and making music in your bedroom, and then transitioning to adulthood. It's a huge difference to survive and continue making music as an adult when you have to start taking care of yourself, earning money, and supporting a family. That’s when decisions are made about whether to continue with music or not.
Discover the twenty artists who will perform at Garáž this August in the curator's playlist.
Let’s talk more specifically about the 20 names in the Garáž program. Did you know any of them beforehand?
Lenka Kuricová: I have to admit, I had heard of two names—Sju and Vanessa Weisz. They were among the top ten favorites that we judges agreed on.
Shina: We talked about Sju first, saying that everything was there with her.
Lenka Kuricová: And if I could go back to the selection process for a second, for me, it was a great experience to be part of the dialogue with experts and listen to what they hear and what they reflect on. I enjoy this process in any open call we do, not just Garáž. It's one of my favorite experiences within ECOC. Shina, you knew more names, right?
Shina: Yes, I knew more names. Charms Kids and Matúš Oravec—I've been following them for a few years because I'm in touch with them. I had read an article about Sju on hudba.sk, listened to her music, and thought, “Hmm, this is interesting.” I also know Let the Wolf Howl, led by Alexandra Apolenová, who was in my mentoring program during KCN Single in Nitra, where we talked for two hours, so I know her whole story. From this selected group, I didn’t know anyone else. I also knew the band Migrain from the mentioned mentoring (though they are not in this list). For some, I knew they existed, played, or I had seen them on posters or in the media.
As I said, there is so much quality music out there that even as professionals in the field, we don’t know all of it.
Lenka Kuricová: Personally, I knew Sju because she debuted in April. I've been aware of Daniela B. for a while. Also, Vanessa Weisz and the rock 'n' roll band Cragy Collide. But I feel like I knew more bands from Garáž last year. It’s a positive realization. There is much more quality music being created; it just takes time for it to find its audience.
Shina: By the way, the growing amount of quality music is also evident from the playlist curated by Patrik Marflák from hudba.sk every month. It’s shocking how many new singles are produced in such a small country like Slovakia. They try to cover it all, and I’m not even able to listen to it all. It’s really impressive.
Maybe even before, a lot of music was being made, but there weren’t the tools to cover it this way, or there weren’t events and initiatives like this that would gather both new and old music in one place.
Lenka Kuricová: A lot of new music is also supported by music clubs.
Shina: Yes, but it’s not visible like this in a collective format. We would have to track each club’s program every month, and people tend to forget within a month.
Lenka Kuricová: That’s the point of the showcase format. We refine Garáž every year, trying to steer it in this direction while also inviting club owners and promoters to Garáž so they can see these bands live. One layer involves the jury listening to the bands, and then we invite music professionals to the actual event. We’re also trying to enrich our activities with a European dimension, which is an important component of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC). This year, we’ll have a roundtable with other EHMK cities, like Chemnitz, which will host the title in 2025, and last year’s Veszprém. We’ll talk about music exchanges and the idea of sharing a curated selection, allowing these cities to choose and book our bands for their events as part of ECOC. This way, we want to expand opportunities for international exposure. This year, we managed to get our first success—Grayhole and singer Vanessa Weisz performed before a large audience at the Norwegian festival UKM.
Sju was selec
Was it her idea to perform online after Pohoda was canceled, or did you have a hand in it?
Lenka Kuricová: I’d love to take credit for that, but no. After what happened at Pohoda, several initiatives emerged, and I believe this Concert for Pohoda was organized by Nová Cvernovka (including the music club Pink Whale, editor's note). They connected with the artists independently, and I think that’s how she was approached.
Shina: It’s interesting how the anticipation of many people before Pohoda channeled into this event, and on Saturday, it had a strong aftermath in Bratislava as well. They couldn’t just leave it and go home.
Let’s go back to the names performing at Garáž. Shina, I think Laura Magičová might be an artist you’d like.
Shina: It’s not so much about liking them. I like everyone we’ve chosen.
I just thought she might be your kind of artist.
Shina: All these female artists—if I could do anything for them, I’d help them move forward. Maybe you were hinting at whether we’d release any of them on Slnko Records. Laura already reached out to us, to my colleague Alex Čerevka, and I noticed her in this competition.
I also liked the band Ktovie. There was something interesting about them—two musicians playing live at Jalta bar, performing in Slovak with a strong energy. But I’d like to mention all of them because everyone we selected is excellent. Even among those we didn’t choose, there were many good things. We can’t say that those we didn’t pick aren’t worth anything and should stop playing. Quite the opposite—sometimes the selection process pushes some people in a certain direction, but the rest, who aren’t selected, don’t need that push. They need peace to do their own thing and express themselves differently.
The band Speechless reminded me of alternative stuff from the '90s. It even made me think of Kolowrat. I felt that '90s nostalgia several times while listening to the Garáž 2024 playlist. There was also the band Andersons—melodic, female vocals. If you like Katarzia, Živé Kvety, and alternative poetic music, I recommend them.
Shina: Yes, it’s like physical poetry—a lot about the body, with a strong sexual charge, very tactile.
And Inakshi represents a whole wave in Slovakia that’s somewhat under the radar but already has a significant listenership if we look at her streaming numbers.
I noted that Inakshi sounds very genuine, even though I’m still finding my way into rap.
Shina: Yes, but rap is becoming very special, I’ve noticed. I’ve even received a few offers. I’ve seen that it’s a whole group of artists. They rap in Slovak, but the Slovak is often hard to understand because they stretch syllables in all sorts of ways, mixing in a lot of English words that are simple, but when it comes out in a fast flow...
Suddenly, you feel it differently.
Shina: Yes, suddenly you feel it differently. There are quite a few such artists; someone often passes them to me, or I hear them somewhere, and it’s very high quality, really well-produced. The performance, which is somewhere between rap and singing, is not in vain—there are strong ideas in it. I think it’s a fascinating element of the scene.
I agree that many artists are grouped together, like Berlin Manson, DušanVlk, FVCK_KVLT.
Shina: Yes, it’s almost never just one band emerging alone—two or three more usually follow, creating a sub-scene.
In Garáž, there’s also Some Hope. If you like more straightforward, mainstream rap rather than alternative, and you listen to Saul or Porsche Boy, Some Hope might fit in with them. Lenka, who else caught your attention?
Lenka Kuricová: I’d like to mention SELENoLAr—it’s an interesting electronic act, and most of us had them at the top of our lists. It sounds very mature, even though they’ve only released their first album, and it felt like they already have some experience. I’m really looking forward to the show they’ll put on, and I think it’s going to be a great concert. Personally, I’d also mention Katarína Marosi—I was very impressed by her, and I really liked her.
In what way?
Lenka Kuricová: She has a very sincere voice and expression, and something about her tone, her vocals, really touched me. I also liked her slightly trip-hop background.
Shina: We could also mention something that could be labeled as funny music, and that's Alte Kompoten, so we have a representative like that as well. We chose them because, besides being of high quality, they sounded good to us, and we had fun listening to them. We wanted a representative who has a sense of humor.
Before including Alte Kompoten in the selection, did you research them more?
Shina: Someone among us knew more about them and told us.
Lenka Kuricová: Bands fill out a comprehensive form before submitting their applications, which also serves our monitoring needs for the EHMK project. At the same time, a lot of the presentation that Shina mentioned "reveals" itself in that. When we see some field that they don’t bother to fill out or just shrug off, it gives us a general picture. We ask them many questions—whether they have any experience with media, how many concerts they’ve played, what kind of set they’re capable of performing.
Shina: That’s a good question; from that, we can deduce how much experience they have with live performances. Some projects applied that have never played live before but want to take on the challenge of performing in Garáž. One young man (I’m not sure if he made it into the final selection) wrote that it would be a challenge for him, but he’s willing to accept it. And that was just in the questionnaire.
Lenka Kuricová: We could mention more highlights from the unselected projects. I don’t remember the name of the mother, but she applied on behalf of her son, who goes by DJ Samko. It was a video shot on a mobile phone featuring a ten-year-old boy at the turntables. And, that he plays at every family celebration, so he has experience performing in front of a live audience.
Shina: When people start young, in childhood, it never really goes away and can develop into something else.
I was also intrigued by the band Standard Society from Košice, who played at the Hradby Samoty festival, and based on that, I immediately knew what their music would be about. It was dark, ambient, and I can imagine them playing a joint concert with Ľahká múza, who have been on the scene for 40 years now.
Who can you imagine eventually appearing under the Slnko Records label?
Shina: There could definitely be more of them. We’ve been discussing things with Charms Kids for the past two years, but on our side, it’s more of a capacity issue. If I could, I would release more bands, but it’s simply not possible because we don’t have the money—that’s the first thing—but we also don’t have the time. Ideally, we can release, say, 10 titles a year—5 in the fall, 5 in the spring. And even that puts us in heavy operation because we’re not a big label. There are just three of us. Primarily, we prioritize artists who are already with us. If I wanted to send them somewhere else, I wouldn’t even have anywhere to send them. Of course, they can do whatever they want—some continue to release their albums independently, others try something different. Meanwhile, the number of labels in our country isn’t increasing; it’s decreasing. So at this moment, even if I wanted to and selected three or four, I wouldn’t be able to offer them much because our publishing schedule is full until next year. And it’s overbooked.
But, there are really interesting names in Garáž this year, which we’ve also mentioned. We like everything in that top 20; some of it could be under Slnko, but at this moment, I can’t even imagine it. Releasing music is becoming more challenging, and we’ll see what happens next year with changes in the Fund for the Support of the Arts or what changes occur in culture overall.
For example, some artists from Hevhetia are reaching out to us, but I have no idea what will happen, where all the artists from Hevhetia (which ceased its activities) will find a place. Fortunately, the music scene is very resilient, and since it’s possible to self-release, artists don’t have to wait for anyone. They just need to secure the money, which I think isn’t the worst thing, so they keep releasing and producing without waiting for us to organize or arrange things. Music is an incredibly vibrant environment; when artists record something, even just one song, they don’t want to wait six months for it to be released. They want to release it next week, or better yet, this week. That’s also why if I offered them a release in six months, they might prefer not to wait and instead take it to the market immediately, finding their own way.
Bands thrive on live performances, and that’s the biggest energy musicians can receive. Shina knows this most intimately and directly from the stage. This year, Garáž is moving from M.R. Štefánik Park to the Hviezda Cultural and Creative Center. Why the change?
Lenka Kuricová: Garáž is essentially a nomadic project, as it was conceived when we were creating it with the Pohoda festival, that it could move around Trenčín, possibly around the region, and bring culture to selected places. We were in the park for two years in a row, and we wanted to come to Hviezda last year, but the date of its inspection and opening was postponed. We’re very happy that it worked out this year. Ideally, we would like to move Garáž to a new place each time, just as Shina mentioned at the beginning regarding the park—to bring culture to the people and revitalize public spaces.
We chose Hviezda very naturally; they are a great partner and a contemporary cultural center where the creative industry is concentrated. We have very good relationships with the director, Juraj Benda, and the producer, Martina Slivková, who set up today’s recording for us. The people at Hviezda are extremely dedicated; they do good work, and many activities are starting here, including within the Fab Lab. They create programs for the public while also running many workshops for the cultural and creative industry. Our connection makes sense, and we’re very grateful to be able to have Garáž here this year.
Hviezda is not a new concept in Trenčín. The Lúč club has relocated here. Shina, have you played here in the past?
Shina: We used to play at the Lúč club; I think the Hviezda building wasn’t in use. We were here for the reopening, but we haven’t played in these spaces yet. But I’m thinking, once long ago, there was Gympel Rock here, though I’m not sure if it was in this large hall, but it seems like it was. It’s fantastic that it has been restored.
How will Garáž 2024 unfold at Hviezda?
Besides bringing concerts for three Saturdays in a row, we’re also preparing accompanying activities, discussions, and fun events like a music quiz. On the fourth Saturday, which is not open to the public but is for the bands from Garáž, we have an educational block prepared. We’ve once again invited professional lecturers who will give talks on various topics: how to collaborate with a record label, how to get on the radio, how to set up a band’s brand identity, how to manage finances, where to find funds, where not to, and much more.
We added the educational block as a new feature last year, and it was a great success among the bands. We’ll repeat it this year and even expand it a bit. Feedback from the bands is important to us, and we try to take it to heart. This year, we’re making more efforts to bring in more bookers and agents, and we want to hold focus groups on how our project can help the music industry and be beneficial overall. While we’re here, this project aims to boost not only audiences and fans but also the actual participants—those who create and work in culture.
Garáž is a joint project of Trenčín 2026 and the Pohoda festival. This year, Garáž is set up in the Hviezda Cultural and Creative Center in Trenčín, where three Saturdays full of young music concerts will take place in August.
Thanks to the Norwegian funds, two emerging bands from Garáž (Grayhole and Vanessa Weisz) performed at the UKM festival in Norway, and two Norwegian bands will perform on the last Saturday in Garáž in Trenčín (August 31st).
Trenčín 2026 is financially supported by the city of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region, and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The partner is the European Union.
Text and podcast: Edo Kopček
Recording, sound mix, and podcast mastering: Dušan Pap
Photo: Trenčín 2026
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