Stories from Istraland Album Launch

MusiCity – Stories from Istraland Album Launch

On Wednesday, 2 September 2026, MusiCity will take to the stage at Portarata in Pula for the official launch of their album Stories from Istraland – or, in the local tongue, Štorije iz Zemlje Istre.

Stories from Istraland is an entirely instrumental album that takes listeners on a musical journey through Istria. Its distinctive sound moves between progressive rock and rock-jazz fusion, enriched by elements of traditional and ethnic music, with the Istrian musical heritage at its heart. Complex in structure yet remarkably accessible, the music of MusiCity has a character all its own. While jazz influences can certainly be heard, the band’s music has a very different sensibility and a distinctive sound that is immediately recognisable to those familiar with their work.

Although MusiCity have already performed some of the album’s compositions at concerts and other events, this will be the first opportunity to hear Stories from Istraland performed in its entirety.

The core MusiCity line-up features Damir Vukelja on guitar, Samanta Stell on flute, keyboards and wind synth, Dean Vitasović on bass guitar, and Robert Rebrović on drums. This is the line-up around which Stories from Istraland was created, with all compositions and arrangements written by the band’s founder and guitarist, Damir Vukelja.

MusiCity regularly perform throughout Istria and beyond, combining their own original music with carefully selected covers.

For this special concert, they will be joined by guest musicians Sandro Vešligaj on keyboards, Ena Pliško on violin, and Nenad Mirt on double bass and percussion.

Stories from Istraland takes its audience on a journey through time, landscapes and stories with eight compositions: Blues Starih Rimljana, Palud, Parenzana Groove, Ptice nad morem, Delta Mirna Blues, Zdolom s Učke…doma, ZaraIstra mix…Tako je povida Žvan Istrijan) and Istraland.

The evening will also feature classical crossover interpretations of works by composers such as Strauss, Bach and Beethoven, together with a selection of other exciting covers.