The live selection rounds of the Openwave Music Contest have come to a close in recent weeks. The cross-border music competition is promoted by EGTC GO, with the organizational support of Openwave and Birrificio Antica Contea, and is dedicated to young bands from Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia. The initiative was created with the aim of promoting emerging talent from the cross-border area and offering young musicians an important opportunity for visibility and artistic growth.

Around 30 musical groups have taken part in the contest, including about twenty from Italy and around ten from Slovenia. After an initial evaluation of the applications, thirteen bands were selected to perform during two live evenings before a qualified music jury.

The first live selection evening took place on Wednesday, 8 July, at the Garage Music Club in Gradisca d'Isonzo, featuring performances by All Man Look Silly, Another Law, DTN, Linija 6, Calibro 16 and Peer Pressure. The second evening was held on Friday, 24 July, as part of the Lunatico Festival at Parco Basaglia in Gorizia, with performances by Frishki, Snakes, Amy's Escape, Peroxid, Loosing Money and Defbit.

Both events attracted a good audience turnout, confirming their role as important opportunities for young musicians from the cross-border area to meet and exchange experiences. The evenings allowed the bands to present their artistic projects live and to be introduced to and assessed by the jury.

At the end of the selection process, the six finalist bands will be chosen to take the stage at the Borderless Beer Fest, scheduled for 28 and 29 August in Piazza Transalpina / Trg Evrope, between Gorizia and Nova Gorica.

The six selected groups will perform during the cross-border festival, bringing the creativity and energy of new generations to the stage and helping to strengthen, through music, the values of cooperation, dialogue and encounter between the communities on both sides of the border that EGTC GO promotes every day.