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Blues for the Balkans

Send the Luke Winslow King Band from New Orleans to play a Flood Relief Benefit Tour in the Balkans

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Blues for the Balkans

Blues for the Balkans

Blues for the Balkans

Blues for the Balkans

Blues for the Balkans

Send the Luke Winslow King Band from New Orleans to play a Flood Relief Benefit Tour in the Balkans

Send the Luke Winslow King Band from New Orleans to play a Flood Relief Benefit Tour in the Balkans

Send the Luke Winslow King Band from New Orleans to play a Flood Relief Benefit Tour in the Balkans

Send the Luke Winslow King Band from New Orleans to play a Flood Relief Benefit Tour in the Balkans

Jugoslav Kapetanovic
Jugoslav Kapetanovic
Jugoslav Kapetanovic
Jugoslav Kapetanovic
1 Campaign |
Washington, DC, United States
$5,193 USD 81 backers
103% of $5,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

What happened.

In the period between May 13 - May 18 of this year, a low-pressure storm system called Cyclone Tamara dumped 3 months worth of rainwater on communities in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. The water broke through the dams and levees, washing away everything in it's path. 2,000 mudslides completely destroyed entire villages and the towns of Maglaj, Krupanj, Obrenovac, Doboj, and Gunja virtually disappeared under the flood waters. The human suffering has been staggering: over 70 people lost their lives, 900,000 had to be evacuated, and over 85,000 are still living in temporary shelters across the Balkans. 

Obrenovac, Serbia directly after the May 2014 floods 

Displaced persons taking shelter in the Hall of Pioneers in Belgrade


What we are doing.

As a group of concerned global citizens, we have come together to form "Blues for the Balkans" to show our solidarity with the Balkan people and to raise awareness about the Balkan floods. Luke Winslow King saw some of the pictures I was posting about the floods on Facebook and reached out to me offering his support. Herein lies the power of social media and crowdfunding: we don't have to wait around for the existing media and power structure to inform us about what's going on or to direct our action. With the internet, the knowledge and power to change the world is only ever a few clicks away. 

We all remember how devastated New Orleans was after Katrina, and how the city and its people are still in a process of recovery.  After many discussions with Luke Winslow King about Katrina, the Balkans, and history of blues music, the "Blues for the Balkans" idea was born. Our goal is to create a cultural and musical connection between what happened in New Orleans 9 years ago with Hurricane Katrina and what is happening in the Balkans now as a result of the massive flooding cause by Cyclone Tamara. 

With your help, we will be raising $5,000 to send the Luke Winslow King band from New Orleans to play a free, 6-day Flood Relief Benefit Tour across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia from July 27 - Aug 2. With another $5,000, we hope to film a documentary about the "Blues for the Balkans" tour, the proceeds of which will all go to support the flood relief efforts of our non-profit sponsors. 


The Tour.

We will be picking up Luke and Esther in Brescia, Italy on the morning of July 27th after the conclusion of their Italian tour. The "Blues for the Balkans" tour schedule continues as follows:

July 27, 2014 (AM): pick-up Luke Winslow-King and Esther Rose after the conclusion of their Italian tour in Brescia, Italy 

July 27, 2014 (PM): Zagreb, Croatia- show @ Meštrovićev Paviljon at 8 PM

July 28, 2014: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina-  show @ Cafe-Bar "Opera" at 9:30 PM

July 29, 2014: Banja Luka (Republika Srpska), Bosnia and Herzegovina

July 30, 2014 (AM): visit Doboj, (Republika Srpska), Bosnia and Herzegovina

July 30, 2014 (PM): Belgrade, Serbia - meet & greet + informal jam session with local blues legends @ the "Vox Blues Cafe" in Banovo Brdo at 11 pm

July 31. 2014: Belgrade, Serbia - show @ the "BITEF Art Theater" under the shadow of the Kalemegdan Castle at 21:00 PM

August 1. 2014: Novi Sad, Serbia - Grand Finale Concert @ Ivan Firchie's "Think Thank Studios" at 7 PM

**We reserve the right to alter the details/locations of our tour dates - though we will try our utmost best to not change anything once announced. In any case, we remain committed to playing 6 free concerts in the Balkans during this time period. We will keep our process transparent and keep your apprised of any changes throughout the campaign period.


Who am I.

My name is Jugoslav Kapetanovic and I have been deeply affected by the Balkan Floods of 2014. I am a 29-year DC native and naturalized American citizen, but I was born in 1985 in what was then called "Yugoslavia" and still have much of my family living in the Balkans. My parents came to Washington, DC with my sister and me in 1989 as diplomats, and when the war broke out in the Balkans, we found a new home in America. 

Despite growing up in Washington, DC, I have kept up with my Balkan roots, speaking Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian at home with my family and taking time to volunteer and live in the region. After my junior year of high school, I had the privilege of going to Sarajevo, Bosnia on a travel scholarship to work at the SOS Kinderdorf Children's Center. My experiences with the children in Sarajevo prompted me to form a Harvard College student group called "Scholarships for Peace", offering travel and study scholarships to mixed-ethnic groups of high school students from Bosnia. I had the great pleasure of living in Belgrade, Serbia for 7 months right before my grandmother died, learning more about my background and heritage. 

Some of my closest friends are in the Balkans, and they have been in my thoughts and prayers every day since this disaster occurred. There has been relatively scant media coverage of this catastrophe, and most people I have spoken to in Washington, DC have had no idea about the extent of the human suffering and environmental damage as a result of the floods. It is safe to say that this is the worst environmental and public health disaster the Balkan region has ever seen, and that the recovery will take years to come. Here is what we would like to do.  


Our Partners & What We've Done Already.

Coming into the Balkan tour as a part of the Indiegogo campaign, we staged four introductory concerts - the first two at on June 6 and June 24 at Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant in Washington DC from which we raised $1.065 for the FondB92 Svilajnac Kindergarten Project; the second two to launch the Indiegogo campaign on July 1, 2014 at the historic HR-57 Jazz Club in DC, and an Indiegogo Launch Party in NYC with Kendrick Lytes, Dante Alston, Shelton Williams, and  Javier Starks of the “One Million Strong tour”.

The $1,065 for Svilajnac Kindergarten Project, will go to restore the destroyed school building, along with furniture and equipment used by kids and kindergarten teachers in the Serbian town of Svilajnac. 

This donation is made in partnership with Fond B92, a Serbian relief organization that is spearheading a number of ongoing Balkan Flood Relief projects. We have chosen to work with Fond B92 for a number of reasons: 1) their proven track record of humanitarian work 2) the great pains they have taken to make sure that aid dollars are going directly to the people in need 3) their focus on the needs of children and 4) a personal and professional relationship with the leadership of the organization.

In Washington, DC we have had the pleasure of working with Kameron Vollin-Reed and Shelton Williams, the core members of the blues group "KVR & The Prototype". Kam and Shelton were the headliners for our second "Blues for the Balkans" concert at Dukem, and at HR-57 Jazz Club.


What We Need from You.

It is important to point out that Luke Winslow King and Esther Rose do not expect to be compensated for their performances. I have taken two months off work to make this project happen and am not expecting to make any money through these efforts. All the proceeds of our complete documentary film project will be going directly to Fond B92, and any donations we receive at the free concerts themselves will likewise go to the Fond B92 accounts.  

The $5,000 we are looking to raise will cover the cost of food, travel, lodging, and promotion for the "Blues for the Balkans" tour. The breakdown is as follows:

$2,000 air travel

$1,000 lodging

$500 food

$500 car rental

$500 gas

$500 promotions, printing

We will keep very careful track of all our expenditures (the balance sheet will be available upon request at the conclusion of the tour), and any money not spent on tour expenses will be donated directly to the Fond B92 relief fund.

In the context of this new age of "crowdfunding", all we need to raise $5,000 for this concert tour is for you and me and 500 of our friends to give $10 each. And if we can get another 500 of our friends to give $10, we can make a documentary.


Risks & Challenges.

We know we are working with a pretty aggressive timetable. 1-month to fully fund and plan an international concert tour is a heady undertaking, but we have put a lot of thought and effort into the logistical planning and believe our goals are attainable. 

What we've got going for us: I have excellent networks in the Balkans from my time I lived in Sarajevo and Belgrade. I am familiar with the geography. I speak the language. I have a networks of friends (particularly in the media/arts community) and family that is fully supportive of our efforts. My great friend Serge Radosavljevic, is a professional artist and filmmaker, and he will be donating his personal time in the making of the "Blues for the Balkans" documentary if we can pay for his travel and equipment costs. Vojin Mitrovic, a family friend and a community liaison for Fond B92 in Belgrade, Serbia, has already put in many hours of work in preparation for our Indiegogo launch. 

We have also teamed up with Bill Cunningham at National Crowdfunding Service, a crowdfunding consultancy based out of Washington, DC. Bill has put in countless hours of work helping us plan and strategize our Indiegogo campaign, and with his help (and yours), I believe we will be able to hit our funding goals. 

I have personally taken the risk of leaving my job and not working for the next two months to make this project happen, without any guarantee and finding immediate work when I return to DC again.  I have done this because I believe "Blues for the Balkans" is something worth doing, and something worth doing well. With your help, we will be able to send the music of New Orleans to the Balkans, to raise awareness for the plight and the resiliency of the people of the Balkans. 


Other Ways You Can Help.

As you consider making a donation to our campaign, also consider reposting/retweeting/sharing this campaign with the people in your social networks. 

We are willing to accept any sort of in-kind donation you are willing to make. For example, you could donate frequent flier miles to cover our air travel expenses, or hotel points to cover lodging. We are also looking to partner with corporate sponsors who would be willing to cover the cost of our tour van rental and food for the 6 day tour. For more information about corporate sponsorship or how to donate in-kind, please send me (Jugo) and email at bluesforthebalkans@gmail.com. 

And for more information about the tour, "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BluesfortheBalkans and follow us on Twitter @Blues4Balkans.


Crew.

Balkans Team Members (14 members)

Artists: Luke Winslow King & Esther Rose

Producer: Jugo Kapetanovic

Executive Producer: Jelena Rashic

Director of Documentary Film: Serge Radosavljevic 

Director of Operations/Non-Profit Manager: Vojin Mitrovic

Director of Communications: Milica Milosevic

Online Marketing and PR: Branko Milovanovic

Social Media Strategy, Balkans: Marko Crljen

Camerman #1: Dragan Djordjevic

Camerman #2: Predrag Misic

Sound Operator #1: Bojan Palikuca 

Grip # 1: Sasha Djordjevic 

Tour Guide, Sarajevo: Amir Galijasevic


DC Team Members: (16 members)

Business Manager/Accounting: Tom Carr

Donor Relations, Washington, D.C.: Zachary Dugan

Social Media Strategy, US: Shannon Emmerick

Crowdfunding Strategy and Consulting: Bill Cunningham & Howard Williams

Event Planning/Promotions: Jonathan Miller II & Eloise Lepesqueur

Interns: Riqi, Frank, and Heather

Artists: Kameron Vollin Reed & Shelton Williams aka "KVR and the Prototype", 

Kendrick Lytes, Dante Alston, and Charles Fenwick

Band Manager: Cheri Vollin


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Choose your Perk

featured

Poster

$25 USD
Luke Winslow King poster to be mailed to you once we get back from the tour.
4 claimed

Postcard from the Balkans

$5 USD
A postcard from Luke, Esther, and Jugo from the Balkans. To be mailed to you once we get back from the "Blues for the Balkans" tour.
3 claimed

Video edit of documentary

$10 USD
An advance promo video edit of the "Blues for the Balkans" documentary. To be emailed after completion of post-production.
6 claimed

T-shirt

$15 USD
Luke Winslow King T-shirt. To be mailed to you once we get back from the tour.
14 claimed

NYC Launch Party ticket

$30 USD
Buy a ticket for the NYC Launch Party, Thursday July 10th @ 8pm. 810 Broadway Avenue, Apt. 6, New York, NY 10003. (Broadway and 10th). First 40 contributors will get a free copy of Luke Winslow King's "The Coming Tide" CD.
6 claimed

CD

$35 USD
Luke Winslow King CD to be mailed to you once we get back from the tour.
4 claimed

8 x 10 print

$50 USD
An 8 x 10 print from a portfolio of photographs from professional Belgrade-based photographers. To be mailed to your house once we get back from tour.
10 claimed

Signed CD

$100 USD
Signed Luke Winslow King CD to be mailed to you once we get back from the tour.
0 claimed

Signed vinyl

$200 USD
Signed Luke Winslow King vinyl. To be mailed to you once we get back from the tour.
0 claimed

DC walking tour

$300 USD
Enjoy a 3-hour walking tour of Washington, DC with "Blues for the Balkans" producer and DC-native Jugo Kapetanovic.
0 out of 5 of claimed

Skype Concert

$500 USD
Luke Winslow King and Esther Rose will play you a private 5-song Skype concert. To be scheduled within 1 calendar year of Indiegogo launch.
0 out of 4 of claimed

In-Home Concert

$1,000 USD
Luke and Esther will play a concert in your home or office. Two 45-minute sets or one 70-minute set. To be scheduled within 1 calendar year of Indiegogo launch. Must be within 2,000 miles of New Orleans in the continental United States.
1 out of 3 of claimed

Wedding concert

$2,000 USD
Luke and Esther will play a concert in your home or office. Two 45-minute sets or one 70-minute set. To be scheduled within 1 calendar year of Indiegogo launch. Must be within 2,000 miles of New Orleans in the continental United States.
0 out of 2 of claimed
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