It’s the end of an era. This June 27–29, Georgia’s eZo Festival will return for its final edition. Hosted this time where it all started 10 years ago at the forest-laced Ciskari venue, which is located at Turtles Lake, eZo promises to hold its ground with the kind of warmth and unspoken magic that has always made it special.
This summer marks a decade of eZo Festival. Ten years of building something quietly beautiful in the mountains above Tbilisi. Naturally, the plan was to return home to celebrate. However, following the city’s new land use regulations, the land that once housed eZo has been reclassified as a forest zone. Their lease was not renewed, and with that, the dream of a 10th anniversary on Mtatsminda Hill was taken off the table.
While the collective behind the festival fought hard to hold space for one more year, the decision was final. This isn’t just a logistical setback. It’s the loss of a sacred space where friendships were forged and many memories made. But true to form, eZo won’t leave us without one final chapter, heading home to where it began for a final dance.
The festival has spent the last decade quietly shaping the region’s electronic underground. With its roots planted in tolerance, openness and DIY collectivism, eZo wasn’t just about music. It was a symbol of something more tender: community, care and freedom of expression in a country often tense with politics around club and festival culture. We wrote about their previous edition, inviting the likes of Shakolin and Karine from Ukraine to the curation.
This year’s edition feels less like programming and more like storytelling of their 10 year history. A lineup that reads like a yearbook of the Georgian scene: Rati (live), Kdema, Zurkin, Tamada, Nika J, Vas and so many more returning friends and collaborators offering up everything from deep techno and broken electronics to live experimentations and sun-kissed house and disco.
Even the B2Bs and label showcases (Didube Records and Sounds of Brazil among them) feel purposeful, as if pieced together from shared memories across the Georgian community.
The three-stage format remains: Main Stage, Orange and Nature. Each holding its own tempo, energy and palette. Expect the same careful blend of live performance and DJ sets, a spectrum of homegrown selectors alongside a few international faces still to be announced.
Outside of the music, the eZo spirit lives on in the details. There’ll be drinks, food and a charming market offering t-shirts, headbands and trinkets to remember the moment. Their strict no photo policy on the dance floors keeps things grounded, an old-school nod to living in the now. And true to its roots, the festival continues to push a message of respect: for one another, for the space and for the natural world around it.
eZo has always held a specific kind of energy both in their events, as well as the label Mzesumzira. Releases from the likes of Frankie Beatnik, RATI and Mr. Levi LD illustrated the diverse tastes within the collective. There is a spirited presence in everything they do, whether it’s RATI’s more dubbed out housey jams, or the jazz and disco flavours of Frankie and Levi.
As the collective signs off with this final chapter, it’s clear they aren’t going quietly. If this is the last time we gather in that mountain air under the spell of those sounds, let it be unforgettable.
Tiered tickets are moving fast, starting from 60 GEL for day passes and 100 GEL for full weekend access. Secure your spot on their website.
More info on eZo Festival
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