While the organizers are adding the festival’s lead artist, nature gives them a little wet time. United Islands by Česká spořitelna has kept the name of its 10^th anniversary edition leading headliner until the last moment. The crème de la crème of the lineup will be the pop-soul star Aloe Blacc who has won worldwide attention with the hit I Need a Dollar. The organizers also informed yesterday that the area of the festival will need to be relocated as the initial plan of having the event on Kampa, Petřín and Kinský Garden is failing due to the wet soil being unsafe for the presence of so many persons. The festival received an audience of nearly 60,000 last year and the organizers are expecting a similar visitor turnover again. The event will be offering 195 projects, e.g. Princess Chelsea, Citizens!, Acollective, Adi Ulmasky, Rina Mushonga, Moonlight Breakfast, Tenfold Rabbit, John Primer and many more. United Islands by Česká spořitelna is held from 20th to 22nd June in Prague.

The organizers have decided to give a hearty celebration of the tenth anniversary in spite of the weather and to bring a major artist like they did in 2006. “We want to celebrate the tenth anniversary right and proper. Ten years ago, we never would have thought that the event would attract tens of thousands of people and become a part of Prague’s culture life. We have identified new locations and prepared a lineup that we have every reason to be proud of. Alongside with the discoveries we have been bringing for a number of years, we decided to have a star to give the party the proper touch,“ adds David Gaydečka, the festival dramaturgist.

Aloe Blacc was born as Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III in California in 1979. In the 1990’s, he collaborated with the producer Exile as a rapper in the hip-hop project Emanon, releasing six albums. His solo career would not start until 2003; three years later he released his first studio album Shine Through (2006) the most part of which he also produced. Aloe Blacc had to wait for fame a little longer, though. The breakthrough came in 2010 when the track I Need a Dollar was chosen as the opening theme of How to Make It in America. The track made Aloe Blacc a first-class star both in the USA and Europe, with invitations to the world’s premium festivals arriving shortly.

Aloe Blass’s performance at United Islands by Česká spořitelna will be his premiere in the Czech Republic and his fans can mark their calendars for Saturday, 22 June.

Yesterday, however, the organizers were informed that the land soaked from the floods prevents the festival from being held in the planned locations of Kampa, Petřín and Kinský Garden. At the moment, no authority is able to foresee the potential risks under the surface and no guarantees may be given as to the safety of the visitors. “These reasons have propelled us to searching a secondary location where the festival would be held to the maximum extent.  We are hard at work on the subject with the City Hall, the districts and all partners of the festival,” adds Martin Voňka, one of the event organizers. David Gaydečka, the festival dramaturgist and organizer, confirms cancellation is not the plan: “We believe the festival will take place. A change of the date, however, is not a feasible way of addressing the problem as the unique situation of all 195 artists confirmed and meeting on one location at a single time is unlikely to arise again.”