Vinkovci is a city located in Slavonia, the eastern part of Croatia. This romantic little town definitely deserves a lot more attention, although it’s pretty far from Adriatic coast, where everyone’s headed these days Recently we found out that they have a small, but active rockabilly scene, led by vintage and rockabilly enthusiasts Ana and Matija Vukoja, who are also owners of the Hang Loose caffe bar. They came up with the idea of making a one day rockabilly festival in the center of Vinkovci, which is a great initiative. We wanted to support it as much as we can, especially because the festival was held for the first time, so we packed our people and headed towards Slavonian plains.

The festival was held on the Vinkovci Gymnasium playground – I’m really fond of the festivals with this high school vibe, so I immediately liked it. It had everything it should have, but in a smaller scale, which was really charming – oldsmobiles, pin-up girls, a fair, a local cuisine food, and of course, the stage.

One of the several VW Beetles. This one really has a character.

Dramatic interior shot.

Part of the crew.

50% of the Beetle, still loading

We decided to simply call them James Dean no.01 and James Dean no.2.

Bronco Boobalooga was in charge for the warm-up and succeeded. Behind Bronco you can see the visual identity of the festival (author: Nenad Barinić) – as a designer I always like to see what others came up with, and I must say I was very pleased with this one.

Yeah, we brought them, too. It wasn’t safe to leave them in Zagreb, without any supervision.

SentiMental Bikes – handmade vintage looking bikes from Zagreb – there was also a tombola, so you could actually win one of those.

Custom Culture official transportation vehicle.

A few local shops with various vintage stuff.

A pool party where everyone was invited.

Ford Taunus

Look, Craftomoto on the Hang Loose Rockabilly Festival poster!

Back to Swing Zagreb dancers.

The Hang Loose crew performing.

There was also a place for barbers.

As the sun came down, the temperature has slightly dropped, so people started gathering.

Soon it became really crowded, which was a very pleasant sight.

Moonshine Alligators from Novi Sad (Serbia) were the first band that played that night.

Mississippi Queen from Zagreb – you know those guys already

The Cat Paws – a band from Daruvar.

The bassists never turn us down Exhibitions on the stage are always welcome.

Slavonian people definitely know how to rock, in case you didn’t know.

This refreshment didn’t came from the sky, but from the stage – glad I captured this moment!

A tombola prize waiting for the new owner.

The morning after – from our window we could see a gloomy day and happy people It was raining, so we had to cancel our plans that included strolling through the city, and visiting Vukovar nearby. Unfortunately, we didn’t had a chance to hang in the Hang Loose cafe bar, because it was closed at the time – waiters also had a wild night Hopefully, we’ll come next time. All in all – great organization, great lineup, great atmosphere. This is a small festival with a big punch! Big thanks to the organizers for having us!