Ekaterinburg's Symphony of Sound: A Recap of the "Night of Music" Extravaganza and Its Unforeseen Highlights, Headlined by SmashBand Performance
Yekaterinburg, Russia, was recently abuzz with music as the annual Ural Music Night festival took place on June 27th and 28th. This large-scale, multi-genre music festival has become a cultural landmark for the city, showcasing the rich diversity of music within its borders and attracting thousands of spectators.
The festival, which is formally known as Ural Music Night, transformed Yekaterinburg into a vast concert venue for one night. Stages were set up across various locations, including parks, squares, bars, restaurants, theaters, and museums, with over a hundred stages in total. The festival has been held annually for more than a decade and has grown in popularity over the years, featuring a diverse lineup of artists representing many musical styles and genres.
One of the highlights of this year's festival was the performance by the popular group "SmeshBand" at the Park of Mayakovsky. Known for their covers of songs from the "Smeshariki" cartoon series, "SmeshBand" put on a show that attracted a massive crowd of fans of all ages. The stage was filled with plush "tablets," a reference to episodes of the "Smeshariki" cartoon, and the group performed their hit "Ot vintsa!" with performance art elements. Many fans came prepared with posters, thematic accessories, and even professional makeup mimicking their favourite characters.
The concert by "SmeshBand" was just one of the many performances that took place during the festival. Approximately 3,000 artists performed at the event, with notable headliners across Russian and international music scenes, such as NILETTO, AY YOLA, AK-47, Maxim Svoboda, Kristina Kosheleva, "Forbidden Drummers," Victoria Daineko, Kai Metov, Mark Tishman, and Irakli.
The festival ended deep into the night, with the traditional finale at dawn on Oktyabrskaya Square. The event, which symbolizes the unity of the festival’s participants and the city’s vibrant cultural spirit, concluded with the song "Ray of the Golden Sun."
The 2025 edition of the festival attracted approximately 450,000 spectators, demonstrating the wide appeal of music in Yekaterinburg. The festival showcased that music transcends boundaries - between generations, genres, and even childhood memories and adult life. The emotions and rhythms of the "Night of Music" festival remained with the citizens for a long time, creating a memorable experience for all who attended.
Ural Music Night began as a cultural initiative to celebrate the rich diversity of music in Yekaterinburg and has grown into one of Russia's largest multi-format music festivals. It continues to highlight the city's dynamic artistic scene and draw large audiences to experience music in many urban settings simultaneously.
[1] Ural Music Night official website: [5] Ural Music Night 2025 press release:
The Ural Music Night festival, not just a concert event but a transformation of Yekaterinburg into a city-wide entertainment venue, offered over a hundred stages and featured a diverse lineup of artists, including 'SmeshBand', known for their 'Smeshariki' covers, and national and international headliners.
Music transcended boundaries at the Ural Music Night festival, captivating fans of all ages, genres, and influencing generations, as evidenced by the massive crowd at the 'SmeshBand' performance at the Park of Mayakovsky and the wide appeal evidenced by the approximate 450,000 spectators in the 2025 edition.
