Last Friday I was given the honor and privilege to be part of the Split Festival, one of the oldest music festivals in eastern Europe birthing many illustrious careers from Oliver Dragojevic to Dino Dvornik; everyone and anyone who had musical talent would grace their stage. Being held at the Prokurative, at the end of the Riva in the very heart of the city also makes it that much more special. It has a special place in the hearts of the citizens of Split and we fondly look back at some of the greats who sang some of their biggest hits and will continue to echo throughout the region.

Apollo and I never thought, not in a million years, that we would ever get the chance to perform because of its format which requires the song to sound local and be in Croatian. Whilst shooting the video for the single “Going Somewhere” I called legendary producer/songwriter Nenad Vilovic to ask if I could shoot some scenes in his studio. Upon arrival we reminisced as the man had given us chances and helped us on our musical journey and always had kind words and encouragement. Well that day he had a song he wanted to play for us after we shot the scenes and it was the song “Pulitika” which was inspired by the role of Mestre (Boris Dvornik RIP) from the classic Yugoslavian tv series ‘Velo Misto’. Mestre disliked patrons and customers of his barbershop discussing politics as it was a punishable offense in that time of Croatian history and the saying has become ingrained much like the characters into Dalmatian culture. When Neno played me the song I immediately related to the message and liked how it had that typical Split charm and humor of the past. When he asked if I would like to guest feature on the song with Roko aka 3P Hop, an upcoming MC from the city I said of course if he felt confident in me being able to pull it off.

Weeks would go by and I would rehearse and later meet Roko and discuss the performance. I would be pleasantly surprised to meet a fellow MC from the city and his positive attitude and drive was truly refreshing to be around. He was generous enough to allow me to share the stage with him on one of the most established events in the Balkans and I would like to thank him yet again in this post. When the day of the show was upon us I was nervous and was dealing with a slew of personal issues and some realizations that would leave a weaker man in shambles. 

When we did the final rehearsal and I saw that it was really happening, Aston Mike Delgado would make his first public performance on one of the biggest stages in his hometown. When it was showtime we all took the stage and with our energy and theatrics managed to not only get the loudest applause that night but walk away with not one, but two silver cups which none of us were expecting that morning. Rain would cut festivities short and I would depart thinking they would not announce the winners. When Roko called me and shared the good news I got choked up and will confess a solitary tear rolled down my cheek. For in that moment nobody could deny the sacrifices I have made. I now stand among some of the best and brightest stars from Croatia and managed to reconnect with some great artists and introduce myself to new ones. A few stand outs will be Joe from The Splitters, Igor Cukrov and Matej Plavcek who were gentlemen and professionals who helped remind me that Croatia has so much talent and that no artist is an island to himself. 

Thank you Neno, Thank you Roko and Thank you Split!