ROCK ZONE ULTRA FESTIVAL 2002. GERMAN ROCK BANDS IN MOSCOW

On May 26, 2002, the international Rock Zone Ultra festival was held in Moscow at the Tushino airfield (capacity – about 15,000)! JSA Promoter and ULTRA radio station, supported by BMG Russia prepared and successfully held this great event. For the first time in the practice of festivals in Russia, the JSA Promoter team gathered several top idols of a youth audience on one large stage as part of a single project.

The English-singing rock musicians from Germany – Guano Apes and H-Blockx, and already well-known bands Reinvented and LAW, as well as the popular Russian rock group Kukryniksy, performed on one big stage. The concert program was planned for the whole day and played non-stop.

There were many fast food points, but alcohol was not for sale. According to the rules, it was allowed to sell beer, but the Militsiya (police) banned its sale for unjustified reasons at the last moment. The Moscow Militsiya (Police) Department also sent a lot of soldiers for security for some reason. That was unusual for such an event and completely useless. Unfortunately, the JSA Promoter team did not have an official opportunity to influence this situation.

The day of May 26 was not chosen by chance. On May 25, traditionally sounds the “Last Bell” of the school year in all schools. Therefore many young people and students willingly came to this festival, which JSA organized specially for them in Tushino. A great event to relax and get positive energy on the first day of the holiday. Moreover, the ticket price of 300 rubles (10 euros) for this case for a whole day of live music, sun, and relaxation was quite affordable for many people. As a result, the fans of alternative rock music were in a good mood at the festival.

Producing such a festival was a kind of experiment for the Russian live music concert market. As a result, everything turned out well, and this was the next step in the future of the festivals’ direction in the big country. Until that time, none of the promoters in Russia had held a festival where young Western musicians of such a quantity and level took part.

In addition, for the second year in a row, Guano Apes soloist Sandra Nasich celebrated her birthday in Moscow. It was May 25, the day before the show. The day before the show, at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg Sandra Nasich and other members of the Guano Apes, as the headliner of the festival, gave a press conference and arrived on radio Ultra to participate in a special program for advertising the festival.

The JSA Promoter team expresses its special gratitude to Michael Kozyrev, general producer of the ULTRA radio station, for their assistance and cooperation in this event. Many thanks to the record company BMG Russia and personally head of marketing – Tofik Sadykov for supporting this festival. BMG has released a series of CDs (collections of various artists) under the general name Rock Zone Ultra.

Internet Portal OnAir.ru: “ROCK-ZONE ULTRA 2002”

InterMedia News Agency:
– ROCK ZONE ULTRA Festival will be opened by Kukryniksy
– ROCK ZONE ULTRA Festival: “Bullshit Will Not Be!”

Newspaper “Kommersant” №89 / 05.28.2002: Rock Zone Ultra Festival in Tushino

The newspaper “Vash Dosug (Your Leisure)” 05/16/2002: “Rock Zone Ultra”: continuous extreme!

Internet Portal of Musical News ZVUKI.RU: We live in the Zone. Rock Zone.

JSA STAGE installed for this festival a large stage, FOH tower, and other structures made of Layher elements, backstage tents, barriers, fences, and many other facilities for the festival infrastructure.

Below you can see some photos of the musicians of the Guano Apes band taken during the soundchecks before the festival.