Pop and rock music appeared in the fifties of the 20th century, while it gained popularity in the eighties.
Djordje Marjanovic, the biggest music star of the region of all times, was the first one to fall into the state of “ecstasy” along with his fans in concerts. He used to cry with them, throw his jacket into the audience and fall down on his knees in ecstasy. Serbian music came to the turning point with the formation of the band “Bijelo Dugme” in 1974. Combining rock and folk, they were surely one of the greatest bands in the newer history of the Serbian music. Even though folk music still exists today, it is not the only main genre in Serbia.
Over the time, Serbia has picked up the pace with the rest of the world, so it is not uncommon to hear genres like pop, rock, funk, punk, metal.
It also should not come as a surprise that Serbia adopted newer genres like Electro (dance, techno, dnb, rnb, dubstep, etc.)
There is a very popular festival called “Exit” which always attracts tourists from abroad. It is organized in Novi Sad, Vojvodina and it promotes mainly modern music – hip-hop, electronic music, dj-ing, etc. Serbia has a few DJs that are worldwide known: Marko Nastic, Gramophonedzie, Dejan Milicevic, Pookie, etc.
Speaking of traditional and modern music, there is also a wave, called turbo folk, which combines electronic and folk music.
If you need an example of a country/nation that has saved its tradition, it would be Serbia. Serbian’s music became rich by adopting new genres and still saving the traditional ones. If you go to Serbia, you have many choices as to what type of music you would prefer to hear.

You can go to clubs and pubs, where you will find good electronic music and DJs, or you can go to taverns where you are most likely going to hear more traditional types of music.

Photo credits: Jovana Rakic 

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After several member changes, the band appeared for the first time in 2009, playing blues hits and standards. After that moment they started playing even more intensively in clubs, on festivals and in pubs across Serbia with the same repertoire. During 2010 TPBB became a trio, with Milovan Đuđić on the guitar, Nikola Vučetić on the drums and Dejan Zec on the bass guitar. As a trio, they appeared several times as a “Tribute to Jimi Hendrix” and “Tribute to Cream”. In addition to that, their repertoire became enriched with more blues and jazz standards. At the same time, the band started working on their original songs.

In 2012 the band got its newest member, Aljoša Molnar – “Yoko Zuna” and they began making and promoting their original songs even more intensively. In October 2012 TPBB makes the first recording of their live concert, held in famous “Studio M” in Novi Sad.

The Petting Blues Band shared a stage with many famous Serbian musicians and bands such as: Pera Joe, Texas Flood, Blaža i Kljunovi, Sale Sedlar, Last Station Band, Šinobusi, Riblja Čorba. Today, they play both their own songs as well as those of other bands, and they currently intensively work on the material for their first album.

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Serbians consider themselves a musical nation – this belief is grounded on a centuries old heritage of music that has been formed under the influence of both the East and the West.

As the country was caught between pieces of the Roman Empire, Hungary, Byzantium, near the Ottoman Empire and Venice, Serbia was influenced by a variety of other cultures; which affected the music so that it contains elements that are characteristic of the Balkan area.

“He, who sings, thinks no evil” is an old Serbian saying that will describe Serbian’s attitude towards music in the best possible way.

People used to sing all the time and in various occasions, and songs created in the field or at festivities would spread around followed by the sound of the fifes, trumpets, drums and bagpipes. Some of them survived until this day reminding us of the past times.

• The “gusle”: a single-stringed musical instrument and the “frula”: a musical instrument resembling a flute, are typical folk musical instruments in Serbia.
• There is also “tamburitza”: a kind of guitar, typical for the region of Vojvodina.
• The accordion and the violin, even though extremely popular now, came into use much later.
• The trumpet has gained large popularity, and is celebrated especially at the Guca Brass Festival and on Serbian weddings as well.

Photo by Aleksandar Janjanin wedding photographer / AjproFoto

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The national folklore dance (in Serbia called “kolo”) differs from one region to another, and the most famous are “Uzicko kolo” and “Moravac”.

There is also a dance called “dodolas” – young girls decorated with flowers and leaves, with wreaths of vine, grass and twigs on their heads going from village to village singing and dancing, praying gods for rain.

Composers Stevan Stojanovic Mokranjac and Josif Marinkovic brought Serbian music into the modern era in the 19th century, and composers Petar Konjovic, Stevan Hristic, and Kornelije Stankovic have even further helped the growth of the Serbian music, and helped Serbia catch up to the modern European tendencies, leaving the romanticism behind.

After Radio Belgrade was opened in 1929, Serbia got its own “stars”. Sofka Nikolic, “the queen of Skadarlija” (Belgrade’s bohemian street), marked the golden age of Serbian folk music and became the most popular singer in history. Later, Silvana Armenulic, Lepa Lukic and Predrag Cune Gojkovic sang some of the biggest hits of folk music.

Balkan brass bands become quite popular in middle and in the southern parts of the country, often times involving performances with trumpets, as soldiers
used the instrument to play and update more traditional folk music.

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