Juzni Vetar Sells Out, Suzana Jovanovic Admits Stage Fright

The Juzni Vetar Festival sold out its first Tasmajdan concert in under a month, prompting organizers to open a second date on June 26. The news was confirmed by Suzana Jovanovic herself, who is returning to that stage for the first time in 27 years.

Tickets vanished quickly, forcing organizers to offer fans another night. This marks the return of the faces behind one of the most recognizable music brands in Serbian pop-folk, and judging by how fast the tickets sold, public interest far outpaced expectations.

In the 1990s, Jovanovic recorded three albums with Juzni Vetar and several songs that audiences still know by heart. She later stepped away from the big stages, and this performance comes after a difficult chapter, following the death of her husband, music heavyweight Sasa Popovic.

Why is her return after 27 years so emotional?

The singer made no secret of the fact that deciding to face an audience again was anything but easy. Speaking to the media, she admitted that her first reaction to the offer was to pull back.

“Stage fright and fear gripped me: ‘What am I going to do there, Gorance, please, not me…’”, Suzana recounted, describing her first reaction to the invitation to return.

Much of that emotion is tied to her late husband. Suzana believes that Sale, as everyone called him, would have supported this step. As she put it, he is watching over her from above and is glad she is returning to the stage in grand style, and the memory of his words gives her strength.

“Everything that has happened to me recently, my Sale leaving us, I think he is somehow watching from above and would love what I am doing”, the singer said. She added that he had encouraged her before: “He always said, ‘What do you want, Sule, our children are grown, you should go back to your work, to your love.’”

What can audiences expect at Tasmajdan?

Organizers are promising a night of big hits, while Suzana herself has said she can hardly wait to reunite with the crowd. The festival gathers the recognizable names of this music style, and two consecutive dates make clear that nostalgia for the sound of the 1990s remains remarkably strong.

For Suzana Jovanovic, this is not just a return to the stage but also a personal step past a hard period. After a break lasting nearly three decades, she faces an audience that, judging by the sold-out tickets, has been waiting for her.

And you, would you go to a concert where a singer you remember from the golden age of Juzni Vetar returns after 27 years?