July 22, 2025
This year, DokuNights returns not just as a music program, but as an inseparable throb of DokuFest: growing, shifting, always reaching for something greater. Together, we set our sights on the stars, gathering each night beneath the sky at our Sonar Stage in Prizren’s fortress. There, surrounded by stone and light, we wait for the sunrise. One breath, one beat, one sound, at a time.
Curated by Nita Deda and Leart Rama, this year’s programme brings a wide constellation of artists: from centuries-old ceremonial songs to bold contemporary sounds that reshape our sense of rhythm and presence. We mark a season of music, we mark magic, memory and motion.
On August 2nd, we open the doors of Sonar with a night that slips into morning, waits for the first rays of light reaching the mountains. We'll be under the clouds by driving melodies and deep textures from some of the most visionary corners of the electronic scene. Byron Yeates, the mind behind the Radiant Record, and Australia’s radiant duo IN2STELLAR meet through the orbit of Rebiswan in a night without edges, endless.
One of the most anticipated nights will be a soul-stirring performance by Ukraine’s genre-defying quartet Dakha Brakha. Fusing folk traditions with theatrical energy, they offer a rare spectacle of sound and vision, traveling across time, borders, centuries.
Our quest to the stars wouldn’t be complete without shining a light on homegrown energy Ylli Limani, whose songs we’ll all sing together, threading through all generations.
We continue following the spark, with the thrilling retro-futurism of Shkodra Elektronike as they shed light on our fortress, on us, on our hearts with their modern renditions of the traditional songs of Shkodra.
A special homecoming will be with Ibadete Ramadani, as she launches her new solo album, a project that finds its very first audience in our city, our castle, our skies, inviting us to all the love and longing.
Cinna Peyghamy, YAAND, and urbau join in, offering raw, contemporary performances that blur the lines between
acoustic and electronic, urban and rural, tradition and transformation.
Another major moment comes from upsammy, who will present her new album Strange Meridians with a live A/V show. A rich blend of shimmering melodies and reactive visuals, unfolding with clarity and confidence. Before her, LUXE will guide us into dreamlike territory with a concert crafted for immersion.
DokuNights will close with the performance of the legendary singers and virtuoso performers Pulse of Berat, inviting us to dance and sing along to the traditional Albanian music. The night is endless! It continues back at the fortress with an all-night celebration: the 10th anniversary of Sound Metaphors and the 24th edition of DokuFest, soundtracked by Sound Metaphors DJs, the beloved Sleep D bringing us a window to the Butter Sessions universe, and for yet another magical year, the one and only, our lucky charm Genc Elezaj.
Three paths, one destination. A shared dream of dancing into the morning, into the future, until the lights rise again for the 25th edition of our festival, and DokuNights returns with its most ambitious dream yet!
https://ra.co/events/2220246
