Mostar Sevdah Reunion – winners of Best Group at the Songlines Music Awards 2024 – are celebrated interpreters of traditional Bosnian sevdah music, a rich folk genre with a history of more than 400 years. Rooted in Bosnia and Herzegovina and now embraced worldwide, they have been central to the revival and international recognition of sevdah, bringing this deeply expressive music to audiences everywhere.

Mostar Sevdah Reunion decode and represent sevdah with a deep commitment to its roots and an openness to renewal. Drawing on over 400 years of musical tradition from Bosnia and Herzegovina, their performances reveal sevdah as a living form: emotionally rich, historically grounded and continually reimagined. Over the past 25 years, they have played a central role in the revival of this music, bringing its distinctive melodies and expressive power to audiences around the world.

On stage, the group’s diversity of musical backgrounds and individual virtuosity come together in a collective that is never static. No two concerts are ever the same, shaped instead by subtle shifts of mood, interaction and interpretation. Interpreting a centuries-old tradition is no easy task, yet despite war, loss and countless obstacles, Mostar Sevdah Reunion has endured – offering performances of rare intensity, authenticity and quiet originality, where tradition and individuality exist in constant, compelling dialogue.

This event will last approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including an interval.

Presented in association with Bosnia UK Network and Concerted Artists

The curation of Songlines Encounters is supported by the  1900 Building

About Mostar Sevdah Reunion

The story of Mostar Sevdah Reunion begins in 1993, at the height of the Balkan War, when Dragi Šestić, the group’s founder and producer, recorded a modest audiocassette featuring a handful of tracks. Circulated privately among friends, the recording was conceived as a brief escape – a momentary refuge from the surrounding violence and suffering. During those dark days, a promise was made: ‘One day, the whole world will know about Sevdah.’

When the war ended, that promise was kept. In 1998, the band released its debut album Mostar Sevdah Reunion, and from that moment on, they began captivating audiences wherever they performed.

Over time, the band’s sound and lineup evolved. Guitar and piano joined violin and accordion as leading instruments, and a younger generation of singers stepped into the spotlight. Along the way, the group collaborated with legendary artists such as Šaban Bajramović, Ljiljana Buttler, Esma Redžepova, Boban Marković, Naat Veliov, and Amira Medunjanin, always striving to present the full richness of Balkan music while honouring its most authentic and uncompromising voices.

The Balkan Autumn (2018) introduced Milutin Sretenović, known as “Sreta,” a 70-year-old Serbian crooner who blended Sinatra-like jazz phrasing with flamenco influences and Oriental maqams. Alongside him appeared Antonija Batinić, then just 27 years old, whose seemingly boundless vocal abilities marked her as a rising star of Sevdah. Following Sreta’s passing in the summer of 2021, Antonija Batinić became the band’s principal vocalist.

Their 2022 album Lady Sings the Balkan Blues achieved outstanding international recognition in 2023, reaching number one on major world music charts including Songlines, World Music Charts Europe, and Transglobal World Music Charts. The band was voted Best Group worldwide at the 2024 Songlines Awards, coinciding with the celebration of their 25th anniversary and the release of their most recent album, Bosa Mara.