TBF, Goran Bare & Majke, Porto Morto, ABOP, Elena Vasova and BEG to perform at Park fra Jure Radića on September 19 and 20, while Milan Mladenović’s birthday on September 21 will be marked with a film programme at Makarska Open-Air Cinema.
Makarska, September 1, 2026 – As the September sun sets over the open sea and the stage lights come on above Makarska, the city beneath Biokovo will once again take on the colours after which this festival is named. From Saturday, September 19, to Monday, September 21, the fourth edition of the “Modro i zeleno” Festival will bring six live performances, three film screenings and a special celebration of Milan Mladenović’s birthday.
Dedicated to the music and legacy of one of the most important authors of the regional rock scene, the festival will connect Park fra Jure Radića, the Osejava peninsula and Makarska Open-Air Cinema over three days. This year’s programme brings together major names in music, the new regional scene and young musicians from Makarska, reaffirming that “Modro i zeleno” is not simply a festival of remembrance, but a place where Milan’s legacy continues to live through new artists, new audiences and music that knows no borders.
The concert programme begins on Saturday, September 19, with a performance by Elena Vasovalast year’s winner of the Milan Mladenović Award. She will then be joined on stage at Park fra Jure Radića by TBF, whose songs have been an essential part of the Croatian music scene for decades and Porto Morto, one of the most distinctive names of Zagreb’s new generation of musicians.
Sunday evening, September 20, will bring together Makarska’s local musical talent with major concert names. The programme will open with band BEGfollowed by Goran Bare & Majke and Zagreb-based collective ABOP, known for turning electronic music into a powerful live experience.
This year’s Milan Mladenović Award will be presented in Belgrade on Monday, September 21, the day of Milan’s birth. As his birthday falls on a Monday this year, following three consecutive award ceremonies in Makarska, the award ceremony will return to Belgrade, while the festival concerts will remain in Makarska over the weekend. These are connected, but separate programme segments: the finalists take part in the award ceremony programme, while the festival in Makarska traditionally welcomes the winner from the previous year. From 173 submitted songs, an international jury has selected 12 finalists from six countries in the region this year.
While the name of the new laureate will be announced in Belgrade, Milan’s birthday will also be celebrated in Makarska.
The story of Milan’s connection to Makarska will be further enriched this year by the new Krug viewpoint on the Osejava peninsula. Designed as a circular bench based on the concept of architects Branka Juras and Morana Ostojić, it takes its name from another of Milan’s songs. Surrounded by pine trees and overlooking the sea and islands, it offers yet another reason to take a walk through Osejava, stop to watch the sunset and experience Makarska in its most natural colours – blue and green.
The film evening at Makarska Open-Air Cinema will offer three different perspectives on important stories from the region’s music scene. The documentary „Električni orgazam za ljude budućnosti“ directed by Marija Vukić, follows the band on an overseas tour and reveals lesser-known details from its almost four-decade-long career. The short documentary „Praia do Ventu Eternu“ , directed by Đorđe Marjanović, was created from private VHS footage recorded during the stay of Milan Mladenović and Mitar Subotić Suba in Brazil, where they recorded the cult album Angel’s Breath in 1994. The programme also features the award-winning documentary-animation film „Iza osmeha“ directed by Marko Đorđević, an intimate portrait of Vlada Divljan created from family footage, musical recordings and personal memories. The film programme has been prepared in cooperation with Kino Mediteran.
The “Modro i zeleno” Festival takes its name from Milan’s song of the same title. Born in Zagreb, raised in Sarajevo and later living in Belgrade, Milan remained connected to Makarska throughout his life – the city his mother Danica came from and the place that was his summer home. Standing before the blue of the sea and the green of Osejava and Biokovo, it is almost impossible not to imagine that this landscape inspired “Modro i zeleno”, a song whose title in Makarska feels as though it has always belonged to the city.
The “Modro i zeleno” Festival has been held in Makarska since 2023, while the Milan Mladenović Foundation has presented the award bearing his name since 2019, always on Milan’s birthday. The fourth edition of the festival is organised by the Tourist Board of the City of Makarska and the City of Makarska, in cooperation with the Milan Mladenović Foundation from Belgrade.
“Modro i zeleno” does not preserve Milan’s legacy in silence. It brings it back to the stage, to film, to new musicians and to audiences who still recognise his songs as their own. And in Makarska, between the sea and Biokovo, this music still has its natural landscape.
Admission to all festival programmes is free.