Darko Rundek, Haustor & Ekipa will perform two special concerts on June 5 and 6, 2026, at Luka Beograd, under the banner “By the River, for the Rivers”, organized by Long Play. The events promise to be a major highlight for fans of the regional music scene, marking 41 years since the release of “Bolero” – the iconic third album by Haustor, originally issued by Jugoton in 1985..

Notably, “Bolero” was the first project on which Rundek collaborated with trumpeter Igor Pavlica, who has since become a longtime creative partner and a key member of Ekipa.

Joining Rundek & Ekipa on stage will be former Haustor members from that era: Zoran Zajec Zexa (guitar, backing vocals) and Damir Prica Capri (tenor and soprano saxophone, keyboards).

The riverfront concerts will shine a fresh spotlight on an album widely regarded as a turning point in Haustor’s career. Following the departure of bassist and co-author Srđan Sacher and drummer Srđan Gulić, the band continued as a trio – Rundek, Zexa, and Capri – cementing Rundek’s status as one of the most important rock auteurs in the region.

“Bolero” delivered enduring hits such as “Ena”, “Šejn”, “Šal od svile”, and “Sejmeni”, and is widely considered one of the most significant albums of the former Yugoslav space.

Rundek recently reflected on the album, describing “Bolero” as a counterpart to its predecessor, “Treći svijet”: “What may have limited the communicative reach of ‘Treći svijet’, from my perspective, was compensated for on this album. We had strong material, and it didn’t suffer from the fact that I played all the bass lines and programmed the drums myself.”

Many point to the massive hit “Ena” as central to the album’s success.

“It was embraced beautifully – it remains my most-played song”, Rundek says, also recalling “Šejn”: “Cowboy heroes are among my symbols of imagined freedom. As a kid, my favorite black-and-white Western comic was ‘Shane’. Tall, slender, in a long coat he would flick back before a duel – my ‘Šejn’ was very much like Clint Eastwood in spaghetti westerns”.

While “Treći svijet” is firmly established among the finest releases of the Yugoslav new wave, a large part of the audience associates Haustor most strongly with “Bolero”. As Rundek notes, six of the album’s eight tracks – both lyrics and music authored by him – remain in regular radio rotation and a staple of his live repertoire. Despite numerous reinterpretations over the years, the songs are still remembered for the distinctive sound shaped by Zexa and Capri.

Rundek revealed that the idea to mark the Bolero anniversary emerged during a concert by Rundek & Ekipa at Zagreb’s Tvornica kulture last November: “We invited Capri and Zexa – who were Haustor with me back in 1985. A kind of magical (al)chemical reaction happened, and we didn’t want to leave it behind in 2025. So in 2026, we decided to celebrate ‘Bolero’s’ 41st birthday with the Belgrade audience as Rundek, Haustor & Ekipa, ‘By the River, for the Rivers’. We also want to highlight the importance of preserving the wild rivers of the Balkans and the natural life within and around them”.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Rundek’s historic concerts on December 20 and 21, 2000, at the sold-out Studentski kulturni centar, followed – due to overwhelming demand – by an additional show on December 22 at a packed Hala sportova. Those performances marked Rundek’s first appearance in Serbia without Haustor, in an electrifying atmosphere.

Tickets for Rundek, Haustor & Ekipa on June 5 and 6, 2026, at Luka Beograd are available via the Tickets.rs network.

As part of a now well-established tradition at Rundek’s concerts, each ticket holder will receive a branded reusable plastic cup at the entrance.

Links:

Tickets >>  ǀ  Darko Rundek Website >>  ǀ