Hits, fun and beaming faces

That probably exceeded the boldest expectations of the organizers: even before the festival started, visitors were queuing at the entrance. Tens of thousands wanted to be present at the premiere of the new Lido Sounds Festival on the Urfahrmarkt grounds yesterday. When Danger Dan opened the festival at 1 p.m. on the main stage, the area in front of the stage was already packed. A total of eleven bands could be heard and seen on the extensively demarcated site until 11 p.m.

The Lido Sounds will be organized by Arcadia Live together with the Linzer LIVA for the first time this year. It lasts until Sunday, with up to 30,000 visitors expected every day.

Three quarters of an hour later, local hero Lou Asril started on the second stage in the tent. “Nice that I can open the festival here,” he called out to the crowd. The 23-year-old grew up in Seitenstetten and in the Mühlviertel and attended the Pop-BORG in Linz. Despite the early hour, his concert got off to a great start: Asril took us into his very special world of sound with partly melancholic electro pop, the listeners in the 6000-person tent sang and danced along.

“Such a bundle of feelings”

“This performance was really fun,” Asril told OÖN backstage afterwards. “It’s easier for me when people go along like that. It feels like a bundle of emotions. You don’t think so much about your own insecurities.” Even after his performance, the artist, who now lives in Berlin, stayed at the festival and listened to them concerts by his colleagues.

In the meantime, there was a very colorful culinary offer for the visitors, ranging from pretzels to currywurst to cheese spaetzle. The drinks were not exactly cheap: half a beer cost 6.50 euros, half a liter of apple juice 6.50 euros.

Meanwhile, the next concert was taking place on the main stage: “My Ugly Clementine” heated up the crowd in front of the stage. But shortly afterwards, dark clouds gathered and the first raindrops fell. Then at 3.30 p.m. the interruption: Due to a storm warning, the program on the main stage had to be interrupted at short notice. The visitors bore the adversity with composure: they grabbed rainwear, used the break for a drink, gathered at covered food stands – and in the tent: the band “Coach Party” has probably never played in front of so many fans.

“A Mega Festival”

The spook was over just 40 minutes later, Anna Calvi played in front of a slightly soaked but exuberant crowd. When Vöcklabruck-based AVEC stepped onto the stage in the tent, the audience area was packed: “It’s an honor for me,” she called out to the crowd, “to be able to perform in front of so many people here in my home country.” The visitors had fun too. “It’s a mega festival,” said Alex Mayrhofer. “It’s great that there’s finally a festival like this on the Donaulände.”

• The live ticker from Friday to read