EXIT Festival through five key performances

Having blossomed from its origins as a student movement in the early 2000s, EXIT Festival’s 40+ stage programme and all-night ethos welcomed 200,000+ people from over 80 countries for 2024. 

To mark its 24th edition, the usual four-day festival, based in the Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad, was stretched out to coincide with the birthday of the late Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla. Opening the main stage – a.k.a. the Tesla Universe stage – and Dance Arena a day early, the festival paid homage to the esteemed engineer on 10 July before the main event kicked off. 

Though it delivered a genre-spanning line-up, EXIT’s extensive electronic offering was the standout, with highlights including Helena Hauff, Flava D and Sama’ Abdulhadi.

Relive our five key performances below.

Sama’ Abdulhadi

On the opening evening, Palestinian techno hero Sama’ Abdulhadi took to EXIT’s towering mts Dance Arena to deliver a thumping live set that had the crowd properly shaking. In a powerful opening, she played a sample of activist Kwame Ture explaining the difference between peace and liberation. “You can’t have peace until everybody is equal,” his voice rang out, before launching into a barrage of kickdrums and basslines. In a year of unspeakable tragedy, it was a powerful, moving set, and a reminder of the political power of dancefloors.

Flava D

Garage, grime and bassline veteran Flava D delivered a blistering show on the Thursday night. With over a decade in the game, the artist showed she’s still a serious player with a versatile set that jumped seamlessly through eras and genres, keeping the crowd moving as one the whole time.

Altın Gün’

Altın Gün’s Turkish psych-rock was a welcome antidote to EXIT’s more high-octane performances. Making their debut at the festival, the band — whose name translates to ‘golden day’ — delivered a transportive, main character-moment set blending both traditional and totally new sounds. Remaining loyal to their Anatolian influences, it was one for fans of Turkish folk as much as those of the psychedelic sounds of the 70s. Think acrobatic vocals, synths, folk scales and reverberant guitar riffs.

Bonobo

Taking the reigns on the final night, Bonobo played a two-hour set that featured upbeat versions of more downtempo and ambient-leaning tracks. Touching on latin and club classics while retaining the transcendent quality typically associated with his sets, he took us on a musical journey that winded in new directions with each selection.

Helena Hauff

As the sun peeked its head over the eastern edge of EXIT’s NSNS stage on the final morning, German electro pioneer and former Crack Magazine cover star Helena Hauff took those refusing to go to sleep on an extended, euphoric morning journey. The stage’s name is an abbreviation of No Sleep No Sleep, and with her typical flawless mixing on the 1s and 2s, she blended hypnotic techno and acid with hefty gunfinger-raising moments – leaving everyone satisfied at the finale of a fulfilling weekend.