Damir Imamović

Damir Imamović, a Bosnian musician, singer, and composer, has been dubbed the "king of the new sevdah" by the Huffington Post. He is one of the leading voices of contemporary sevdah – a musician, researcher, and storyteller whose music touches on the past yet sounds remarkably modern. He grew up in a family of sevdalija bards, which allowed him to encounter the world of traditional music from an early age.

His musical journey began during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, when he played guitar and explored various music genres, including pop and rock. Later, he devoted himself to sevdah, interpreting it in a modern way by blending traditional elements with innovative approaches. In the early 2000s, he embarked on his solo artistic path after meeting singer Farah Tahirbegović (Dertum), and he recorded his first album in 2006. Since then, he has performed across the region and around the world – from Europe to the USA, Mexico, China, Japan, and India. In the summer, he has a few performances across Europe with a trio, which includes Turkish kemençe virtuoso Derya Türkan and double bassist Žiga Golob.

His research and educational work are a key part of his artistry – through his project SevdahLab, he lectures and conducts workshops worldwide. In 2015, he set up an exhibition Sevdah, the Art of Freedom at the Sarajevo Art Gallery of BiH, and the following year, he published the first history of sevdah in book form (Sevdah, Vrijeme), which has also been translated into English. He has collaborated with top musicians such as Greg Cohen, Eric Vloeimans, Bojan Z, Vlado Kreslin, Jadranka Stojaković, and many others, as well as with producers such as Chris Eckman (Dvojka, 2016) and Joe Boyd (Singer of Tales, 2020).

In addition to all this, he writes music and lyrics for theater, film, video games, and other performers and has received numerous awards and recognitions. It has been five years since Damir's last (sold-out) performance in Maribor.

Sevdalinka, the genre that Damir passionately preserves and develops, has been added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage since last year.

TICKETS
pre-sale price (until July 1, 2025) • 17 EUR
regular price (after July 1, 2025) • 20 EUR
The pre-sale price applies to students, pupils, pensioners, and individuals over 60 years old.