First Concert in Serbia

The band Frajle. Pic from their website.

About a week ago, I had the privilege of seeing the band Frajle in concert in Subotica, Serbia. If you have not heard of this Serbian singing ensemble, then I'm sure you're wondering what in the world "Frajle" means. I asked my Serbian friends the same question, and this is the answer that I got: Frajle is the Serbian pronunciation of the German word "Fraulein" which loosely translates to "young, unmarried woman." Fitting it seems - since the group is made up of four, lovely (unmarried?), Serbian women from the Serbian, university town of Novi Sad.

Technically, it wasn't really my FIRST concert in Serbia considering I saw Lepa Brena belt out a few tunes in Belgrade during a taping of Zvezda Granda. But Mrs. Lepa was a surprise appearance, where as with Frajle, I bought a ticket, dressed up a bit, packed my camera and joined my friends for a night out on the town. 

Pose!

Packed auditorium! Standing room only if you didn't arrive early.

It was a fun and entertaining evening! The girls were incredibly talented and they performed a few covers in English, French, and Spanish along with several Serbian and Croatian hits. The concert opened with a cover of Lady Gaga's Poker Face (click here to see the YouTube performance), and the crowd loved it! They transitioned into a song by Adele and then a clever arrangement of "Hit the Road Jack."

If you watch any Frajle videos on YouTube, you'll get an idea of how animated the girls are, and they are exactly the same way in person. If I thought the crowd enjoyed the songs in English, then I had another thing coming once Frajle started belting out well known Serbian hits. The crowd went wild; jumping out of their seats, flailing their arms all over the place, giving each other hugs and high fives, and dancing in the aisles. I didn't understand most of the songs in Serbian, but I loved the outward display of emotion and familiarity in the people sitting around me. It's a part of the Serbian people that you don't experience simply walking down the streets; here, every stranger became a friend - they were united in their memories of better times. It was as if the 500-person auditorium had morphed into a room full of family and friends. I loved being in the middle of it!

She is the Frajle Diva. 

If you live in Serbia, go see Frajle in person. I think you will really like it. Even if you don't enjoy their music or the covers that they perform, you'll enjoy the lively atmosphere.